Birth Plan
Discover the empowering benefits of implementing a birth plan into your care for pregnant women on their journey to motherhood.
Fact Checked by Ericka Pingol.
What is a Birth Plan Template?
A Birth Plan Template is a completed document that identifies the preferences of the woman and their family when it comes to delivering their baby. This general Birth Plan Template can be used by women who are still determining what type of delivery they will have or those who have already decided on their delivery process.
A Birth Plan Template typically includes the preferences on various aspects of childbirth:
- Labor preferences
- Feeding preferences
- Medication preferences
- Support people preferences
- Birthing position preferences
- Postpartum preferences
- Any other preferences
This document will be used to communicate these preferences to the team of healthcare professionals who might be involved in the labor and delivery process. Birth Plans can be adapted to the type of labor and delivery process. Still, there are some birth plan templates available on our Carepatron website that are specific to alternative forms of birth processes.
It is important to remember that this is only a plan. During childbirth, confounding factors may change the course of the labor and delivery process. This is why it is important to stress the importance of flexibility in Birth Plans to women and their families. Although every effort will be made to ensure that the Birth Plan is followed by everyone involved in childbirth - sometimes the plan might be altered or removed in emergencies.
The Birth Plan Template can also be an anxiety relief for many women and their families. Having a birthing plan often makes a stressful situation feel more controlled. As an empowering tool, birth plans can help women feel more relaxed and that their needs and preferences will be fully considered and met.
Printable Birth Plan Template
Download this Birth Plan Template to help parents-to-be prepare for the birth of their child.
How Does it Work?
Step One: Obtain the Template
You can navigate the Carepatron website to the Printable Birth Plan Template. This template is available for download for online completion or printed completion.
Step Two: Talk With Your Client
Once you have obtained the template, now is a good time to explore what the woman and partner expect when they go into labor. If this is their first pregnancy, you can assist them through some common requests during labor. Or, if this is not the woman’s first birth, you can explore if they have any preferences for maintaining aspects of their previous delivery experience or altering some aspects. Don’t forget to talk about the need for flexibility within birth plans!
Step Three: Complete the Template
The great thing about this template is that it can be completed by the woman and their family/spouse in their own time or with your guidance as their healthcare professional. Women who are experiencing a high-risk or complicated pregnancy may need extra assistance from their healthcare provider to incorporate specific needs into their labor and birth plans.
Step Four: Utilize the Natural Birth Plan Template
Once the Birth Plan Template has been completed, remember to keep a copy of the template on file. It will be important to have easy access to this template when your client enters labor. It may also be a good idea to go through the template with your woman to underline any difficulties in their specific case or if anything needs to be included. Once the form is completed, other healthcare professionals who may encounter your patient can learn what the overall wishes of your woman are.
Birth Plan Example (Sample)
We’ve created a completed Birth Plan Template Example for your reference. This sample follows a woman who is hoping to have a natural birth with limited medication. It’s important to remember that your clients may differ and that this template is designed to be flexible up until the moment of birth.
Download this Birth Plan Template Example:
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When Would You Use This Template?
Completing a Birth Plan Template can benefit your clients in many instances. Here are a few:
Preparation
It is common for women and their families to begin the preparation for childbirth early on. This may include setting up bedrooms, preparing clothes and stocking up on essentials. You may like to consider offering a Birth Plan Template when you meet with your client. The Birth Plan Template can help women consider their plan for labor and delivery at the end of their pregnancy. It can also help prepare for the unexpected during delivery.
Education
Creating a Birth Plan for delivery can help women and their support people comprehend what will happen in the room when their baby is on its way. It may be common for women to feel left out of decisions made by healthcare professionals during labor, or it may be common for the talk between doctors/midwives to go over the woman’s head. Creating a birth plan with their healthcare professional means, they will get any questions before labor answered and have a rough idea of what will happen in that room on this special day.
Communication
Communication is a key aspect that needs to be considered during the labor and delivery process. Birth plans can help healthcare professionals and support people in understanding what will be the most beneficial for the woman during this time. It can also guide further ideas if any complications arise.
What do the Results Mean?
Results from the completion of the Free Birth Plan Template reflect the preferences of the woman and her family for the labor and delivery of their baby. While there are no specific ‘results’ associated with the Birth Plan Template that a healthcare professional can look for. However, there are common answers that may emerge. Common answers may include preferences on pain medication, preferred birthing position, and support people, as well as after-birth preferences.
The preferences outlined in the Free Birth Plan Template serve as a thorough communication tool for healthcare providers who may be involved with the labor and delivery process. It is important to remember that the preferences should be well-informed decisions.
Healthcare professionals should emphasize factors that might be important to the specific pregnancy. This may include a ‘plan B’ for a cesarean delivery. Birth plans also have the potential to change slightly or drastically, and awareness of this is important. This is why it is important to stress the importance of flexibility within the results produced in the Birth Plan Template.
Why Use Carepatron as Your Birth Plan App?
Here at Carepatron, we’re dedicated to making your life as a healthcare professional much easier! Carepatron is the best place to do all of your healthcare admin tasks and an even better place to do all your healthcare work during pregnancy.
Carepatron is the best place to do all your healthcare admin tasks. We know how valuable the time that you spend with your clients is. That’s why using the Carepatron platform will enhance your ability to provide the best care for mum and baby.
As a clinical notes software, Carepatron works to provide healthcare practitioners with the most up-to-date technology that helps them to easily navigate patient notes that they use all the time - especially when seeing pregnant clients often during the end stages of their pregnancy.
Using Carepatron as your Birth Plan Template App means you can easily access free templates that help give your women the empowerment they require during this amazing part of their lives. As a Birth Plan Template Software, you’ll have access to various tools that will aid in your care for your pregnant clients.
Carepatron offers an extensive offer when it comes to pesky administrative tasks. You’ll have access to patient appointment reminder software and a free Patient Record Software that helps track the progress of all clients. Not only do you get access to work-altering software, but you can also rely on Carepatron to take care of required payments, appointment scheduling, and much more!
References
Ahmadpour, P., Mosavi, S., Mohammad-Alizadeh-Charandabi, S., Jahanfar, S., & Mirghafourvand, M. (2020). Evaluation of the birth plan implementation: a parallel convergent mixed study. Reproductive Health, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-020-00989-6
Anderson, C. J., & Kilpatrick, C. (2012). SUPPORTING Patients’ Birth Plans: Theories, Strategies & Implications for Nurses. Nursing for Women’s Health, 16(3), 210–218. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-486x.2012.01732.x
Moore, M., & Hopper, U. (1995). Do Birth Plans Empower Women? Evaluation of a Hospital Birth Plan. Birth, 22(1), 29–36. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-536x.1995.tb00551.x
Commonly asked questions
Here at Carepatron, we have taken the administrative task of creating a Birth Plan Template out of your hands so that you can continue giving the best care possible to your patients. You can download the ready-to-use Birth Plan Template from the Carepatron website.
Birth Plan Templates are used when expecting women, considering their labor and delivery experience preferences.
Birth Plan Templates are used by the pregnant woman and her family/partner to express their preferences about their birthing experiences. They can be completed with the guidance of their pregnancy healthcare physician or on their own. Regardless, healthcare professionals should have access to the completed template.
Carepatron has created a free-to-use Birth Plan Template for women and healthcare providers to use at their will. Check it out!
