12 Irene González Pérez
Channel: Virtual Midwives
Date: 2020-06-12

VIDM 2019: Birth plans: The good and the less good

Facilitator: Linda Wylie

Using a birth plan enhance women’s empowerment regarding their labours and, consequently, improves birth experience in terms of satisfaction. It also appears to be associate with more control over the childbirth process. However, submitting a birth plan not always guarantee a better birth experience; it could be due to women’s expectations are not always respected, health professionals’ reluctance towards the birth plan, the sense of failure that women experiences if they do not achieve their expectations or even because of the poor delivery outcomes as a result of following a birth plan. In conclusion, after reviewing the literature available, it is unclear whether there are benefits when using a birth plan. In this review, the good and the less good aspects of written birth plans will be discussed.