Know Your Options Before You Write Your Birth Plan

The Evidence-Based Birth Preferences Guide

Your birth plan is more than a list of preferences—it’s an opportunity to understand your options before you’re in the middle of labor and decisions are being made quickly.

This guide walks you through the common decisions and interventions that may come up during pregnancy, admission, labor, birth, cesarean birth, newborn care, and infant feeding, with clickable links to evidence, research, and trusted resources so you can dig deeper and make informed choices with your care team.

Inside, you'll explore:

PREGNANCY
Prenatal vaginal exams, considering induction, non-medical methods of induction, and what it can mean when your water breaks without signs of labor.

ADMISSION TO YOUR BIRTH LOCATION
Admission procedures, saline locks/IVs, vaginal exams, monitoring, labor progress, medical induction options, and non-drug options.

PAIN MANAGEMENT
Doulas, TENS, aromatherapy, hydrotherapy, positioning, opioids, nitrous oxide, and epidurals.

VAGINAL BIRTH
Pushing, perineal care, birth, skin-to-skin, and delayed cord clamping.

CESAREAN BIRTH
Cord milking, vaginal seeding, recovery, skin-to-skin, and breastfeeding after a cesarean.

NEWBORN CARE
Hepatitis B, vitamin K, erythromycin eye ointment, delayed bathing, and the benefits of vernix.

INFANT FEEDING
Breastfeeding benefits, pacifiers and breastfeeding, and breastmilk vs. formula.

Why you'll love it

Instead of spending hours searching Google for every possible intervention, this guide gives you a starting point for the conversations and decisions that may come up along the way.

I've organized the topics in the order you're most likely to encounter them, with clickable resources throughout so you can easily explore the research for yourself.

You don't have to choose every preference today.
You just need to know what your options are.

Use this guide to:

✓ Know what decisions you may encounter before and during birth
✓ Identify the topics you want to research further
✓ Have more informed conversations with your provider
✓ Create a birth plan that actually reflects your preferences
✓ Feel more prepared if your birth takes an unexpected turn

Your birth doesn't have to go exactly according to plan for you to feel informed, involved, and empowered in your care.

Start making your birth preferences today.