Knowledge is Power: Why I Love Birth Preference Plans

Average read time: 3 minutes

“But you can’t plan for birth!”

I hear this from people all the time: parents who have gone through birth, people considering it, medical professionals, people on the street. As a doula, I agree! You can’t plan for birth! But you CAN go into birth knowing what you hope your own individual birth to look like. You can go into birth knowing what choices you have in front of you. You can go into birth with the ability to make informed decisions about your body and your baby. And you can go into birth with a birth preferences plan. 

A birth preferences plan is a plan that you create prenatally to help you think through the ups and downs, the ins and outs that you may encounter throughout your birth. I like to think of a birth preferences plan as a worksheet (yes, the former teacher in me will never leave) - something where you use research, experience, and intuition to help you decide what you want from your birthing experience. While completing this plan, you consider questions like, “how do I feel about the use of an epidural during labor?” and “where do I want to give birth: at a hospital? a birthing center? at home?” 

This birth preferences plan can be conceived in several ways: by yourself, in conjunction with your healthcare provider, with your birthing partner, with a doula/birthworker, with trusted family or friends, whomever! As a doula, my only recommendation is to undergo this process without “too many cooks in the kitchen.” Everyone has opinions about birth (including cultural, familial, traditional, medical, evidence-based, etc.). These other opinions will certainly impact your preferences & planning document. Just remember that at the end of the day, this preference plan is for YOU, YOUR BODY, and YOUR BABY during birth: only you have spent 100% of your time with you!

Some questions may be easy for you to answer without much guidance, and others you might want help as you navigate them. That’s why I recommend starting your birth preferences plan in your second trimester, and working on it throughout the rest of your pregnancy. That way you have time to read, talk, consider, and reconsider the choices you will be presented with well before the labor actually begins. Trust me, you really don’t want to start thinking about the benefits and risks of pitocin while navigating contractions! 

One tool I advise to all my clients (that I also continually use myself in medical and non-medical scenarios) is the BRAIN acronym. This is a set of questions to ask others (and yourself) when you need more information before making a decision:

B - What are the benefits?

R - What are the risks?

A - Are there alternatives?

I - What is my intuition saying?

N - What happens if I do nothing? 

As you create your birth preferences plan, use the BRAIN acronym to help you with the more difficult decisions. 

And if you’re in need of a thought partner? Contact me! I’d love to help you navigate this beautiful (and sometimes challenging) time in your life.