ArticlePloS one2024
The contribution of birth plans to shared decision-making from the perspectives of women, their partners and their healthcare providers.
Article in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Reliability and Validity of the MADM Scale in Measuring Maternal Autonomy During Hospital Births in Greece.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- What Is My Role? A Qualitative Study of Labor, Birth, and Postpartum Experiences of Partners.Nursing & health sciences · 2026Article
- Concordance of Self-Reported Obstetric Outcomes With Electronic Health Record Documentation: A Secondary Analysis of the Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study Monitoring Mothers-To-Be.Birth (Berkeley, Calif.) · 2025Article
- Article
- Women's perspectives of decision-making for labour and birth: a qualitative antenatal-postnatal paired interview study.BMJ open · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe birth plan is a document expressing a pregnant woman's childbirth preferences, enabling communication of expectations and facilitating discussions among women, their partners, and healthcare providers for key birthing decisions. There has been limited research on the role of birth plans in shared decision-making (SDM). Our study aims to explore how the use of birth plans can contribute to SDM from women's, partners, and healthcare providers' perspectives.
methodsWe conducted in-depth interviews with women, their partners, and their healthcare providers. We used a thematic analysis to identify themes and subthemes. Furthermore, we created a grounded theory about the role of birth plans as a tool in SDM.
resultsThree main themes were created: ''Creating a birth plan", ''Getting all on board" and ''Birth plans in the daily practice of decision-making". Most women, partners, and healthcare providers agreed that birth plans can facilitate communication and SDM. Women and their partners viewed the birth plan as a tool to prepare for birth. Most healthcare providers mentioned the birth plan as a tool to get to know the women, their partners, and their preferences. Barriers are the attitude of healthcare providers toward birth plans, such as their evident resistance to the birth plan itself or to certain preferences. Another barrier is the assumption women and their partners may have that these plans can accurately predict the childbirth experience, enhancing the chance of a disappointing, negative experience. Some healthcare providers view birth plans as barriers to SDM.
conclusionThe use of a birth plan seems to promote women's, partners', and healthcare providers' involvement in the birth process, and seems suitable to facilitate SDM. Further research is required to explore strategies for overcoming barriers, including healthcare providers' attitudes toward birth plans and the expectations of women and their partners regarding their role.
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