Labour and birth
Birth Plan Template UK: What to Include
Quick answer: a birth plan records your preferences for labour, birth and the first hours with your baby. Keep it short, discuss it with your midwife and include a Plan B for assisted birth or caesarean. You can change your mind at any time. Use the checklist below or download the official NHS birth plan template.
A birth plan is less like ordering a fixed three-course meal and more like handing the team a clear map of what matters to you. Labour can change direction, but that does not make your preferences pointless. A good plan helps staff ask better questions and helps your birth partner speak up when you are busy doing the actual birthing.
What is a birth plan?
It is a written summary of your choices and priorities: where you hope to give birth, who you want with you, ways you might manage pain, positions or equipment you prefer, and what matters after birth. NICE says labour and birth preferences should be discussed and recorded as early as possible in pregnancy.
A plan is not consent given in advance for every procedure. Staff should still explain options, answer questions and ask for consent. You are free to change your mind during labour, and the plan should be reviewed if your pregnancy or circumstances change.
When should I write it?
Start once you know your local birth options, then discuss it during antenatal appointments and update it later. Ask your midwife which facilities, pain relief and birth settings are actually available, and what would happen if you needed transfer or a different kind of birth.
Keep the final version to one or two pages. Put your non-negotiable communication, medical, cultural and accessibility needs at the top. Save a copy on your phone, print one for your notes and talk it through with your birth companion.
What should a UK birth plan include?
Your essential information
- your name, due date, maternity unit and key contact details;
- important medical information already discussed with your team, including allergies;
- communication or access needs, preferred name and pronouns;
- religious, cultural, privacy or trauma-informed care needs; and
- the two or three things that matter most if the plan has to change.
Place, people and atmosphere
- preferred place of birth and your backup option;
- who you want as birth companion or companions;
- whether you are comfortable with students being present;
- lighting, music, quiet, photographs and who may enter the room; and
- equipment you may want, such as mats, a ball, beanbags or a birth pool.
Movement, examinations and pain relief
- whether you want to stay active and which positions appeal to you;
- how you would like procedures and vaginal examinations explained;
- breathing, water, massage, TENS, gas and air, medicines or epidural preferences;
- what you would like to try first and what your backup choice is; and
- any previous experience that may affect how you want to be touched or spoken to.
If assisted birth or caesarean becomes necessary
- who you want with you where the service allows it;
- how you want options explained and who can help you process information;
- preferences about music, photos and seeing the baby being born, where possible;
- skin-to-skin and feeding support if you and the baby are well; and
- who should stay with the baby if you need separate care.
After your baby is born
- immediate skin-to-skin if possible;
- cord-clamping and who may cut the cord;
- how you hope to feed and what support you want;
- your decision about vitamin K after discussing it with the maternity team; and
- any wishes about weighing, dressing, visitors or keeping the baby close.
Copy-and-paste birth plan template
Replace the square brackets, delete anything that does not matter to you, and take the result to your midwife rather than treating it as a finished medical plan.
About me
- Name and due date: [ ]
- Birth place and backup: [ ]
- Birth companion(s): [ ]
- Communication, access, cultural or trauma-informed needs: [ ]
- My three biggest priorities: [ ]
During labour
- Atmosphere and privacy: [ ]
- Movement, positions and equipment: [ ]
- Pain-relief preferences and backup: [ ]
- How I want examinations and decisions discussed: [ ]
If plans change
- Assisted-birth preferences: [ ]
- Caesarean preferences: [ ]
- If I am separated from my baby: [ ]
After birth
- Skin-to-skin and cord: [ ]
- Feeding support: [ ]
- Vitamin K: [ ]
- Other priorities: [ ]
What if the plan has to change?
Flexibility does not mean silently giving up every preference. Ask what has changed, what the options are, what the benefits and downsides are, and whether there is time to think. NICE says care teams should support informed decisions and obtain consent before an intervention. If induction is being discussed, our evidence-led induction guide explains the choices and why DIY methods are different from clinical care.
A useful line for the top of your plan is: “If this option is not possible, please explain why and help me choose the closest safe alternative.” That keeps the conversation practical without pretending birth is predictable.
Give your birth partner a job
Talk through the plan together. Your companion can keep the current copy handy, remind staff about your biggest priorities and ask for a pause while an option is explained. They should not make decisions over your head; their role is to help your voice stay in the room.
Free birth plan downloads
The safest current starting point is the official NHS birth plan template. The NHS page explaining what to include in your birth plan covers place of birth, companions, equipment, positions, skin-to-skin, pain relief, feeding and vitamin K.
For continuity, this page also retains the original article’s third-party birth plan example. It is US material, so use the NHS document and your UK maternity team for current local choices.
The bottom line
Write a short plan that tells people what matters, not a novel that tries to predict every contraction. Discuss it early, include alternatives and remember that changing your mind is allowed. When the day comes, our guide to the signs of labour explains exactly when to call.
Sources reviewed
Editorial check: KidsCo Editorial Team, 6 August 2026. This is general UK information, not personal medical advice.
- NHS: what to include in your birth plan
- NHS: where to give birth
- NHS: pain relief in labour
- NICE NG235: intrapartum care information for the public
- NICE NG235: intrapartum care recommendations
- NHS pregnancy guide (general reference retained from the original article)
- NHS trying to get pregnant (general reference retained from the original article)
