Birth Plans

Birth plans are:

• explained to your support person(s)
• discussed with your doctor/midwife prior to labour
• documented to ensure everyone caring for you is aware of your choices; and
• given to the midwife caring for you on admission to Grampians Health Ballarat in labour

If you’ve had a baby before and have had any past experiences that may affect this labour and birth, make sure you include them in your plan. It is important that your birth plan is flexible, in case things don’t go according to plan; sometimes labour is unpredictable.

There is a Birth Plan template available in your Victorian Maternity Record folder, a small folder given to you at the time of booking in.

When you are expecting your first baby, it may seem difficult to prepare for the ‘unknown’, but the most important thing is that you are involved and well-informed of all the decisions made around your pregnancy, labour and birth.

More details regarding labour and birth are available in the Having a baby at Grampians Health Ballarat handbook.

You may have one or two support people with you and they play an important part.

We encourage you to remain as active as possible, during labour, as this can aid progress and reduce the need for pain relief.