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Your birth plan

Why make a birth plan?

A birth plan is a record of what you would like to happen during your labour and after the birth. You don't have to create a birth plan, but if you would like one your midwife will be able to help. You may also want to discuss some things with the baby's father, and your friends and relatives.

Before you start to fill in the birth plan below, get informed about the topics you'll need to consider, such as pain relief, where you would like to give birth, who you would like to have with you, and how you feel about intervention such as forceps or ventouse (vacuum) delivery. To find out more about these topics to help you decide on your wishes for the birth, click on the following links:

Why making a birth plan is important

Where you can give birth

What happens during labour and delivery

Forceps and vacuum delivery

Caesarean section

Pain relief options during labour

Routine care that your baby will receive after birth

Saving your birth plan

In order to save your birth plan online, and come back to it later to make any changes, you need to be logged in to your NHS Choices account. You can log in or create an account by clicking the link below, or the link at the top right of your screen.

Saving your birth plan will not allow your midwife to access it online. You need to print your birth plan out to discuss it with your midwife.

Page timeout

Please note that this page will time out at 30 minutes. This means that anything you write will be lost if you don't save within 30 minutes of opening the page. You'll also need to save again within every 30 minutes, and before you leave this page.

If you are not registered for an NHS Choices account, you can save your birth plan to your desktop by clicking the "Print" button. Your answers will be saved in a PDF document. You won't be able to make any changes to the PDF.  

Blank birth plan

You can also print out a blank version of the birth plan that you can fill in by hand before completing your final version online. Simply click the "Print blank form" button.  

 

Article provided by NHS Choices

See original on NHS Choices

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