The birth plan conversation — how to have it

A birth plan is less a plan and more a conversation map. You're agreeing how to make decisions when things move fast.

Discuss:

• Where she wants to give birth (hospital / home / birth centre).
• Who's in the room — just you, or family too?
• Pain relief preferences (gas + air? epidural? nothing yet?).
• If labour stalls, what's the threshold for asking about intervention?
• Skin-to-skin in the first hour — for her, and for you.
• Cord clamping (immediate vs delayed).
• Newborn feeding plan — and her permission to ask for help fast.
• Photos — what you'll capture, what stays private.

Write one page. Bring it to the hospital. Don't expect it to go to plan — that's why you talked.