Giving birth is one of the most important moments in your family’s journey together. You may not have considered writing down what you want for labour and birth (often called: making a birth plan), but it is a great way to start a conversation with your birth partner, midwife and doctor (obstetrician) about what matters to you and for your baby.
NHS Lothian Maternity Services developed these pages to help you make informed decisions about your options for labour, birth and the early days with your baby. You can use the Personal Care Plan template that your midwife will give you to indicate what you want. The template is just a guide, you can communicate your plan in whatever way best suits your needs.
The Personal Care Plan is a tool to help you communicate your wants, needs and boundaries to your care provider. If things change from your original plan, it is still important that these are taken into consideration and therefore you may wish to think about what your wants, needs and boundaries look like in different scenarios. This will help your midwife or doctor know what matters to you when discussing options in your pregnancy and birth.
We encourage you to ask questions about your care and your options to help you make fully informed choices. The BRAIN framework can be an excellent starting point for these questions:
A step-by-step guide to your Personal Care Plan for labour and birth
Where do I want to give birth?
How I would like my baby’s heartbeat to be monitored
The Pain Relief Options I would like to have
Assessing my Progress in Labour
Meeting my baby for the first time
Checking my perineum after birth
Having medical students and student midwives present during my labour and birth
