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I wrote three - my original for the birth center, my "in case of transfer" one, and my "in case of c-section" one.

I ended up emergency transferring at the end of my labor and it was such a relief to know that I didn't have to communicate my decisions in that moment - my entire birth team had the plan in hand. Even though things didn't even go entirely according to my "plan B", it was still a very useful resource.

I did. It brought me some sense of control to write it, but to be honest it never saw the light of day. My labor went so differently from what I expected, right from the start, that I just decided to roll with it, whatever happened. My nurse knew the most important parts, about breastfeeding and skin to skin (both of which were highly promoted at my hospital anyway).

@LovelyPlum: I think it sounds like a good balance to maybe have a short one, but you can always discuss it more with your ob/midwife and see what they say! The thing about te mess they absolutely should know already. And definitely talking with your provider about the anxiety before labor is worthwhile IMO so they can look out for any developing problems later on.. Set up your support system before the biggest change (or one of them) of your life is my opinion!

All of that to say--even if you decide to not use it I absolutely think it's a great idea to have it...mapping out my ideal L&D truly did wonders for my nerves.

Nope. My midwife actually advised me not to. She told me it wasn't necessary.

For my home births, no. At least, not yet. I would like to write a list of preferences, mostly for postpartum care, in case of transfer for this one. My midwife knows my preferences for here at home and they're mostly her standard of practice anyways. I did have one for my hospital birth. Nothing crazy- there are some things I don't feel are worth mentioning in bullet form, my husband is quite capable of turning the lights down by himself, and I'll ask forgiveness for eating and drinking later, instead of permission, lol. I hate the term birth "plan" though. Everyone knows you can't plan birth (although, I do expect my body to work, dammit, hence some of my preferences on my list), but it makes people who write one look/feel a bit like control freaks. A short-ish list of preferences is nothing of the sort.
But like @lovehoneybee: said, the process of writing one can be more helpful for YOU than anything. Not only does it help you address your personal feelings about birth and what would make you feel less anxious about the whole thing. As a doula, I like going over a birth plan form from the internet with clients because it brings up issues they hadn't thought of before: do you want immediate eye ointment? Do you prefer to be cut or to tear naturally? If you have a c-section, do you want to be sewn up any way in particular? Stuff like that. Some people genuinely don't care about those options and that's fine, but some people do and appreciate the chance to research and have some kind of idea before said scenario happens. Not that minds can't be changed later on, but being a little more aware of what's happening and why is never a bad thing. Anyways, that's my two cents.

No, I didn't write one. The hospital I delivered at was considered "baby-friendly" so they have things like skin to skin, breast feeding assistance, etc already put into place. Regarding L&d, since it was my first, I didn't know what to expect and I didn't want to get set on any plan in the event it didn't go my way. My doc and I had a great relationship, and we'd talk about labor at my last few appointments so she knew where I stood. Ironically, my doc thought I wouldn't go into labor that weekend so she went away and her colleague delivered DD. She was excellent and I loved that I could just take labor as it came and make the decision then about epidural. Thankfully that's the only decision I had to make. All that to say, my birth plan was to trust my doctors to do what they needed to do to have a healthy mama and a healthy baby at the end of it all.

Yup! I'll be delivering at a hospital and planning a natural birth. I'm 27 weeks and I've had mine written since around 10 or so. I'm sure mine won't go exactly as I've written in my plan, but it will give my doctor and nurses an idea of what I prefer. I plan on giving it to my doctor at my next appointment for us to go over.

Mine's very simple. It has three categories: Labor, Birth, After Birth and has Yes and No categories for each.

Of course I'm planning on a natural med free birth, but my preferences are included in my plan just in case I have to be given Pitocin or need a cesarean.

No I didn't write one. My baby ended up being breech and we had to have her by csection. Honestly, I wasn't lookig forward to a vaginal birth because I had such negative feelings associated with it, that I feel okay with my csection. I didn't have to make the decision-LO made it for me by being breech. Everything about this birth was just how I would have wanted it to happen had I written out a plan: mom healthy and happy, baby born alive and okay, skin to skin, and breastfeeding. I got all of that even though I didn't write out a specific birth plan.

@Sugar.Biscuit: Could you ask your doctor if the hospital does family-based c-section (I think that's what it is called), where you can have the skin-to-skin while they are stitching you up, or even request that your husband do the skin to skin, delay the bath, etc. as long as the babies are healthy? I learned about it in my birth class, but the instructor said you have to ask for it early.

I did write a birth plan. I used the one provided by my midwife. The hospital I delivered at is a baby-friendly hospital and the only hospital in the region to have a birth center. It went great. The only thing that wasn't followed was the continuous monitoring (I wanted to be monitored intermittently), but I arrived at 6.5 centimeters and progressed quickly. Also, my needs changed in the moment. I planned on laboring in the tub, but after 11 hours of labor, I laid on my back through most of transition with my legs on the squat bar before pushing on my hands and knees. The nurses came in quoting my birth plan and offering suggestions (never pain meds, as I requested a med-free birth), which was excellent.

Yes. My OB practice has seven doctors, so even though I technically met all of them, I was not able to have a talk with all of them about what I wanted (or expect them to remember it!). Having something written out and placed in my file allowed me peace of mind that nothing would be forgotten that was important to me. I called it my "birth preferences" though; I thought it sounded less demanding and less formal than a plan. I went in knowing that I would be flexible with it.

My nurse (who was *awesome*) came in quoting it to me, and I was so impressed that they actually looked at it! We discussed various things. Since I had back labor and lying down was the only thing that gave me some relief, walking around went out the window. I agreed to pitocin after birth to help my uterus contract.

You are so smart! I think that is a great idea to help with anxiety. Even just to have so everyone is aware of your wants. I am planning on giving birth at a birthing center so my choices are limited anyways but I think I'm going to still write one!

I didn't but I already knew that the things that mattered to me (skin to skin and breastfeeding) were what was regular practice at the birth center I delivered at. I asked my doctor about writing a plan but I guess I just never got around to doing it and so many things were out of my control when the time came that all I really cared about was a healthy baby no matter how that happened.

Nope. I've never written one. This time it is already written for me in my file: c-section.

I didn't write one because I was worried if it didn't go as I planned I would feel like I failed (i.e. epidural vs natural birth). That being said, I didn't have very STRONG feelings about a particular birth plan.

In the end I'm very glad I didn't - I ended up getting into a car accident and having an emergency c-section at a hospital that wasn't even the one that I had planned on going to!

My circumstance was extreme, but I think it's good to have an idea of what you want / don't want.... I knew that the one thing I didn't want was a c-section - but when it came time I knew that I would do whatever it took to have a healthy baby and it didn't matter.

@alleyflowers: scary! hope everyone was fine!

My doctor's office gave a form that they wanted me to fill out with a birth plan. It had specific questions so I didn't have to come up with it myself. I don't think I ever handed it over to them though. I just made it clear that I didn't want them to offer me epidural or drugs but that I'd ask for them if I needed it.

I had expressed my preferences and my doctor and midwives had my "plan" on file.
Two things were out of my control - preeclampsia and baby had a collapsed lung - so I was induced and he was taken immediately to the Level II nursery for oxygen/monitoring.
But I was able to have a vaginal birth and able to breastfeed.