What Is a Birth Plan?

A birth plan is a written summary of your preferences for labor, delivery, and immediate newborn care. It helps you communicate what matters most to you with your care team at places like Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital, Trinity Health Grand Rapids, Metro Health – University of Michigan Health, Mercy Health, or a local Grand Rapids birth center.

Your birth plan might include:

  • The position(s) you’d like to use during labor and birth
  • What type of pain relief you prefer (if any)
  • Who you want with you during labor and delivery
  • Your preferences for newborn care and feeding

A birth plan does not guarantee that everything will go exactly as written. Labor can be unpredictable, and the top priority is always your health and your baby’s health. However, having a plan helps your Grand Rapids maternity team understand your wishes and support you as much as safely possible.

Why a Birth Plan Matters in Grand Rapids, MI

In Grand Rapids, you have several options for where and how to give birth, including:

  • Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital (downtown Grand Rapids)
  • Trinity Health Grand Rapids
  • Metro Health – University of Michigan Health in Wyoming
  • Mercy Health locations in the region
  • Local midwifery practices and some options for birth centers or home birth with certified midwives

Each hospital or birth setting has its own policies about pain relief, birthing positions, visitors, and newborn procedures. A clear birth plan helps you:

  • Ask the right questions at prenatal visits
  • Understand what’s realistic at your chosen hospital or birth center
  • Make informed decisions ahead of time, instead of in the middle of contractions

Because West Michigan winters can be icy and snowy, it’s also helpful to talk with your provider about when to head to the hospital and how to handle bad-weather travel when labor starts.

Getting Ready to Develop Your Birth Plan

Do Your Research

The more you learn about labor and birth, the more confident and prepared you’ll feel. Before writing your plan:

  • Attend childbirth (antenatal) classes offered by Spectrum Health, Trinity Health Grand Rapids, Metro Health, Mercy Health, or local doulas.
  • Ask about hospital tours so you can see the labor and delivery unit in person.
  • Visit the Kent County Health Department and Grand Rapids Public Health websites for local pregnancy and newborn resources.

During classes, you can:

  • Ask questions about pain relief options, monitoring, and newborn care
  • Hear about choices you might not have considered
  • Learn hospital-specific policies in Grand Rapids

Your options may be influenced by:

  • Your overall health and medical history
  • Whether you’re having a high-risk pregnancy
  • Where you plan to give birth (hospital, birth center, or home)

Talk to Other Grand Rapids Parents

Hearing real experiences can be helpful. You might:

  • Ask family and friends in West Michigan about their births
  • Connect with local parents’ groups (for example, on Facebook or through area churches, community centers, or prenatal classes)
  • Ask women who have given birth at your specific hospital how their experience went and what they would do differently

This local insight can help you ask better questions and refine your birth plan.

Talk With Your Partner or Birth Companion

Your partner, doula, or other birth companion plays a big role in supporting you. Discuss:

  • How involved they want to be in decision-making
  • Whether they feel comfortable with tasks like timing contractions, massaging your back, or helping you change positions
  • How they can help advocate for your preferences if you’re tired, in pain, or focused on labor

You can also:

  • Read books and reliable websites about labor and birth
  • Read birth stories from other Michigan parents

Understanding what can go wrong—such as the need for an emergency cesarean (C-section) or assisted delivery—can reduce fear and help you feel more prepared if plans change.

When to Discuss Your Birth Plan

Bring a draft of your birth plan to a prenatal visit well before your due date—usually around the start of your third trimester (around 28–32 weeks). Review it with your:

  • OB-GYN
  • Midwife
  • Family doctor (if providing maternity care)

This gives your Grand Rapids care team time to:

  • Explain what is and isn’t possible at your chosen hospital
  • Clarify any medical concerns
  • Suggest adjustments based on your health history

How to Organize Your Birth Plan

Keep your birth plan:

  • Short and easy to read (1–2 pages is ideal)
  • Clearly formatted with headings and bullet points
  • Focused on your top priorities

Put the most important items at the top in clear lettering:

  • If handwritten, you can use CAPITAL LETTERS for key points.
  • If typed, use bold for your top preferences.

You don’t need to cover every possible detail. It’s okay if only a few items are truly important to you.

Who You Want in the Room

List the people you would like present during labor and delivery, such as:

  • Your partner or spouse
  • A close friend or family member
  • A doula
  • A private midwife (if applicable)

Specify:

  • Who should be there the entire time
  • Whether there are times or procedures (epidural placement, vaginal exams, C-section discussion) when you’d prefer someone to step out
  • Anyone you do not want in the room

Grand Rapids hospitals may have policies about the number of support people allowed, especially during C-sections or times of increased infection control. Ask your hospital about this and reflect it in your plan.

Your Ideal Birth Environment

You can include preferences for your labor room, such as:

  • Dimmed lighting
  • Your own music playlist (via phone or speaker)
  • Aromatherapy (check hospital policy first)
  • Minimal interruptions when possible

Most Grand Rapids hospitals will try to accommodate reasonable requests, but open flames (candles) are not allowed. If something is especially important to you—like having music or wearing your own gown—note it clearly.

Pain Relief Preferences

It’s helpful to list:

  • Pain relief methods you’d like to try first, such as:
    • Breathing techniques
    • Massage
    • Position changes
    • Birthing ball
    • Warm shower or tub (if available at your hospital)
    • TENS machine (if you have access to one)
  • Medical pain relief options you are open to, for example:
    • Nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”)
    • IV pain medications such as opioids (ask what’s available locally)
    • Epidural anesthesia

You can also outline your preferred order, such as:

“I’d like to try movement, water, and gas first, and consider an epidural if I still need more pain relief.”

Pain Relief You Want to Avoid

If there are options you definitely prefer not to use, list them. For example:

  • “I prefer to avoid IV narcotic pain medication if possible.”

Remember: once you’re in active labor, you might change your mind. It’s okay to be flexible—your plan is a guide, not a contract.

Positions for Labor and Birth

Many women are more comfortable when they can move freely. In your birth plan, you can note if you’d like to try:

  • Walking or standing
  • Kneeling or hands-and-knees
  • Side-lying in bed
  • Squatting
  • Using a birthing stool, mat, beanbag, or Swiss (exercise) ball

Ask your Grand Rapids hospital what equipment is available on the labor unit. If you have strong feelings about avoiding lying flat on your back, say so.

If an assisted delivery with forceps or vacuum (ventouse) becomes necessary, you can note any preferences. However, these decisions are often made quickly by your provider to protect your baby’s health.

Delivery of the Placenta and the Third Stage of Labor

After your baby is born, you’ll still need to deliver the placenta. You can include preferences such as:

  • Whether you are comfortable receiving an injection of medication (usually oxytocin) to help the uterus contract and reduce the risk of heavy bleeding (postpartum hemorrhage)
  • Whether you’d prefer a more “physiological” or less managed third stage if it’s medically safe

Discuss these options with your provider ahead of time, especially if you have risk factors for heavy bleeding.

Umbilical Cord and Delayed Cord Clamping

You may want to include:

  • Who you would like to cut the umbilical cord (for example, your partner)
  • Whether you prefer delayed cord clamping

Delayed cord clamping means waiting to clamp and cut the cord until after it stops pulsing or for a set period of time, often 30–60 seconds or longer. Many Grand Rapids hospitals now practice some form of delayed cord clamping routinely because it can:

  • Increase your baby’s iron stores
  • Improve blood volume at birth

If your baby needs emergency treatment right away, delayed cord clamping may not be possible. Your care team will prioritize your baby’s safety.

Procedures You Prefer to Avoid (If Possible)

If there are certain interventions you’d like to avoid unless medically necessary, list them, such as:

  • Labor induction (starting labor with medications or other methods)
  • Artificial rupture of membranes (breaking your water)
  • Continuous electronic fetal monitoring (if intermittent monitoring is safe and allowed)
  • Forceps or vacuum-assisted delivery

It’s important to understand that while these may not be your first choice, they can sometimes be lifesaving for you or your baby. Use your birth plan as a way to say:

“I’d like to avoid these if it’s safe to do so, but I’m open to them if they’re medically necessary.”

Immediate Newborn Care in Michigan

Ask your Grand Rapids hospital or birth center about their routine newborn procedures. Then, specify your preferences, for example:

  • Skin-to-skin contact:
    • “I’d like my baby placed skin-to-skin on my chest immediately after birth, if medically safe, and to delay weighing and measurements.”
  • Newborn examinations:
    • “If possible, please do routine checks while baby is on my chest.”

In Michigan, newborns are routinely offered:

  • An injection of vitamin K to prevent serious bleeding
  • Their first hepatitis B immunization shortly after birth

If you have questions or concerns about these treatments, discuss them with your provider well before delivery. If you decline or delay any routine treatments, make sure:

  • You understand the risks and benefits
  • Your decisions are clearly documented in your birth plan and medical record

Feeding Your Baby

Be very clear in your birth plan about how you want to feed your baby:

  • “I plan to breastfeed and would like help from a lactation consultant.”
  • “I plan to formula feed.”
  • “I plan to breastfeed and supplement with formula if needed.”

If you do not want your baby to receive bottles, pacifiers, or formula unless medically necessary, write:

“Please do not give my baby any formula, sugar water, or pacifiers without my consent.”

Most Grand Rapids hospitals have lactation consultants and breastfeeding support. You can also find follow-up help through the Kent County Health Department, WIC, and local breastfeeding support groups.

Special Needs, Disability, or Cultural/Religious Preferences

If you have additional needs, include them in your birth plan, such as:

  • Mobility or physical limitations (for example, using a wheelchair or walker)
  • Vision or hearing impairments
  • Mental health conditions (anxiety, depression, PTSD)
  • Religious or cultural practices you’d like respected
  • Language interpretation needs

Specify:

  • Any special equipment that would help you
  • Whether you need a special diet (for example, halal, kosher, vegetarian, or food allergy restrictions)
  • Any rituals or traditions you’d like to observe when your baby is born

Talking these through with your Grand Rapids care team ahead of time helps them plan appropriate support.

Sharing and Updating Your Birth Plan

Once your birth plan is drafted:

  1. Review it with your provider at a prenatal visit.
  2. Ask if there’s a hospital-specific template for Spectrum, Trinity, Metro, or Mercy Health.
  3. Bring several printed copies to the hospital when you go into labor.
  4. Give a copy to your partner or birth companion so they can help communicate your wishes.

Remember: birth plans are flexible. You might:

  • Decide to get an epidural even if you planned an unmedicated birth
  • Need a C-section instead of the vaginal birth you hoped for
  • End up using interventions you had hoped to avoid

This is normal. The most important goal is a healthy you and a healthy baby.

When Things Don’t Go According to Plan

Sometimes medical issues arise during labor that make changes necessary, such as:

  • An unplanned cesarean section
  • Assisted vaginal birth with forceps or vacuum
  • Transfer from a home or birth center to a Grand Rapids hospital

Try to stay open to last-minute changes. Your birth plan can still guide:

  • How your partner participates
  • How you’d like to meet and hold your baby after a C-section
  • Your preferences for pain control and newborn care, even in an operating room setting

It is always okay to change your mind as labor unfolds.

Local Grand Rapids Resources and Emergency Information

If you live in the Grand Rapids metro area, you can get additional pregnancy and birth support from:

  • Kent County Health Department – prenatal programs, WIC, breastfeeding support
  • Grand Rapids Public Health and community clinics
  • Hospital-based childbirth classes and tours at Spectrum, Trinity Health Grand Rapids, Metro Health, and Mercy Health

In an emergency:

  • Call 911 for an ambulance in Grand Rapids or anywhere in Michigan.

You can also contact:

  • Your OB-GYN, midwife, or family doctor
  • Your chosen hospital or birth center’s labor and delivery unit for urgent questions in late pregnancy

Key Points About Developing a Birth Plan in Grand Rapids, MI

  • Every birth plan is unique because it reflects what matters most to you.
  • Keep your plan short, clear, and easy to read, with your top priorities listed first.
  • Include who you want with you, your pain relief preferences, positions for labor, and newborn care choices.
  • You may choose or decline certain procedures, but be prepared for changes if your or your baby’s health requires it.
  • Delayed cord clamping is often possible, but not if your baby needs emergency treatment.
  • It is always okay to change your mind during labor.
  • Your main goal—and your care team’s—is a safe birth for you and your baby.