Birth plan: get ready for delivery day, step by step
Quick answer
A birth plan is a short, written plan for delivery day: where the baby will be born, how you will get there at night, who goes with her, two or three blood donors, money set aside, and the papers to take. Make it by about 28 weeks, share it with the family, and keep the warning signs on it.
By the ParentMind team12 min readListen to this article
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At a glance
- Who it is for
- Pregnant women and their families in the last three months of pregnancy, from about 28 weeks
- Key takeaways
- Most of a Bangladeshi birth plan is about reaching care fast: the hospital, night transport, blood donors and money.
- Make the plan by about 28 weeks and pack the bag by about 34–36 weeks, so nothing is left for the last days.
- Normal birth and caesarean are both decided with the doctor; choose a hospital that can do both, and plan money for either.
- Write it once, put it on one card, and share it with everyone who might take her to hospital.
A birth plan in Bangladesh is less about music and candles and more about one question: if labour starts at 2 a.m., or something goes wrong, does everyone know where to go, how to get there and who to call?
Families who decide these things calmly, weeks before, turn panic time into travel time. This page walks you through each part of the plan, explains our free birth plan card, and lists the warning signs that mean go now.
Urgent signs first: any of these means go to hospital now, whatever the plan says. The full list is at the end of this page and in pregnancy warning signs.
Urgent signs in pregnancy
- Heavy bleeding from the vagina, or any bleeding with pain, dizziness or fainting: call 999 and go to hospital now.
- A fit (convulsion): call 999 and go to hospital now.
- Trouble breathing, chest pain, collapse: call 999 and go to hospital now.
- Any other bleeding or spotting: go to hospital now.
- Fever of 38 °C or more, or shivering: go to hospital now.
- Severe headache, blurred vision or flashing lights, or sudden swelling of the face or hands: go to hospital now.
- Severe belly pain, or pain that doesn't go away; in early pregnancy, pain on one side, or pain at the tip of the shoulder: go to hospital now; call 999 if she faints.
- Fluid leaking from the vagina before 37 weeks, or green, brown or bad-smelling fluid at any time: go to hospital now.
- The baby moving less than usual, or not at all, from about 24 weeks: go to hospital now; don't wait until tomorrow.
- Regular tightenings or pains, pressure low down, or a backache that comes in waves, before 37 weeks: go to hospital now.
What is a birth plan, and why does it matter in Bangladesh?
In many countries a birth plan lists preferences: who is in the room, positions, music. In Bangladesh the most useful one is a plan to reach care, often called birth preparedness: preparing for labour and delivery so that help is never far. When something goes wrong in late pregnancy or labour, three delays tend to cost the most time:
- Deciding: waiting for an elder, for morning, or for the husband to come home before anyone says “let's go”.
- Reaching: no CNG at night, a driver who doesn't answer, traffic, or not knowing which hospital can help.
- Getting care: no money ready, papers left at home, or no blood donor when blood is needed quickly.
Writing the plan down shortens all three, because the decisions are already made.
How to make a birth plan in 8 steps
- Her weeks and due date. Work them out with the due date calculator, and put the checkups at about 32 and 36 weeks in your phone. Your doctor sets your schedule.
- Where the baby will be born. Ask her doctor which hospital or clinic they advise, ideally one that can do a caesarean and arrange blood. Save its phone number and address, and know the route at night.
- The doctor or midwife. Their name and number, and who to call if they are away.
- Night transport. A car, CNG or ambulance whose driver has agreed to come at any hour, plus a second number in case the first doesn't answer.
- Who goes and who stays. The person who goes with her if her husband is away, and who looks after any older children.
- Blood group and two or three donors. Their names, blood groups and phone numbers. Ask them now, and check they are willing.
- Money set aside. An amount kept separately that nobody touches, after asking the hospital what both a normal and a caesarean birth cost.
- Papers to take. NID, the checkup (ANC) card, test reports and scans, and the blood-group report, in one file inside the bag.
Put it on one card
Our free birth plan and emergency card turns the same eight steps into an emergency plan for delivery, one step at a time. Every field is optional. It makes a phone-sized card and a lock-screen picture with your plan, “Call 999”, “Go to” your hospital, and the warning signs, to share on WhatsApp or print for the fridge. It is made on your phone, and nothing is sent to ParentMind. The card has phone numbers, so share it only with family.
Normal delivery or caesarean: how to plan for both
Whether the baby is born by normal (vaginal) delivery or by caesarean (C-section) is decided with the doctor, sometimes during labour itself. A caesarean can be planned ahead or decided on the day, and the reasons a doctor gives are real medical reasons. You don't have to know the answer now. You can plan for both:
- Choose a hospital that can do both, so a change of plan during labour does not mean moving her.
- Keep money for either, plus a few extra days in hospital.
- Pack the bag for a longer stay; our hospital bag checklist has the extras for a caesarean.
Questions to ask the doctor at about 32 or 36 weeks:
- Which hospital do you advise for us, and why?
- Once labour starts, when should we come in, and who do we call first?
- If a caesarean is needed, how long would she stay, and what does it cost here?
- Who can stay with her during labour and after the birth?
- If you are not available, who will see her?
When to make the plan, and what to do in the last weeks
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| By about 28 weeks | Make the birth plan and the card. From 28 weeks she sleeps on her side. |
| About 32 weeks | Checkup: ask the questions above. Confirm the donors and the driver. |
| By about 34–36 weeks | Pack the bag. If she is going to her mother's house for the birth, travel by now, after asking the doctor. |
| About 36 weeks | Checkup: update the card. Tell the donors and the driver the due date. |
| 37–42 weeks | Full term: the baby can come any day. When pains come regularly or the waters break, go to the hospital in your plan. Phones charged and on at night; the bag by the door. |
In a Bangladeshi home: her mother's house, elders and night travel
- Her mother's house: many women go home to their mother for the birth. Ask the doctor when it is safe to travel, then make the plan for that town: its hospital, its drivers, donors who live nearby.
- Who decides at night: agree now, as a family, that anyone at home can call 999 or take her to hospital without waiting for an elder or for morning.
- District towns: know whether your nearest hospital can do a caesarean. If not, plan for the district hospital or a maternity hospital that can.
- Traffic and weather: in Dhaka, plan two routes. Where roads flood in the rains, some families stay with relatives closer to the hospital in the last weeks.
- Load-shedding: keep phones and a power bank charged, and a torch by the bag.
What you might say to the family
- If anything happens at night, we won't wait for morning. We'll call the driver and go.
- Amma, if I'm not home, you can take her yourself. Here is the card.
- Bhai, could you give her blood if it's needed? Your group matches hers.
- This money is for the delivery. Let's not touch it for anything else.
- To the driver: “Please keep your phone on at night these weeks. We may call at any hour.”
A 7-day plan to finish your birth plan
One small job a day is enough. Each evening, note what you settled and what is still missing.
- Day 1: work out her weeks and due date, and put the next checkup in your phone.
- Day 2: ask the doctor, or call the chamber, which hospital they advise. Save its number and address.
- Day 3: call two drivers or an ambulance service, and ask if they can come at any hour.
- Day 4: find her blood group, or plan the test, and ask two or three people to be donors.
- Day 5: ask the hospital about costs, and set the money aside in a separate place.
- Day 6: put the papers in one file, then fill in the birth plan card and share it with the family.
- Day 7: walk through a night emergency as a family: who calls whom, who goes, who stays with the children. Fix whatever is missing.
When to go to hospital straight away
The plan only works if everyone knows when to use it. Go to the hospital in your plan, or the nearest hospital where babies are born, and take the checkup card.
Warning signs in pregnancy
- Heavy bleeding from the vagina, or any bleeding with pain, dizziness or fainting: call 999 and go to hospital now.
- A fit (convulsion): call 999 and go to hospital now.
- Trouble breathing, chest pain, collapse: call 999 and go to hospital now.
- Any other bleeding or spotting: go to hospital now.
- Fever of 38 °C or more, or shivering: go to hospital now.
- Severe headache, blurred vision or flashing lights, or sudden swelling of the face or hands: go to hospital now.
- Severe belly pain, or pain that doesn't go away; in early pregnancy, pain on one side, or pain at the tip of the shoulder: go to hospital now; call 999 if she faints.
- Fluid leaking from the vagina before 37 weeks, or green, brown or bad-smelling fluid at any time: go to hospital now.
- The baby moving less than usual, or not at all, from about 24 weeks: go to hospital now; don't wait until tomorrow.
- Regular tightenings or pains, pressure low down, or a backache that comes in waves, before 37 weeks: go to hospital now.
- One leg painful, red or swollen: go to hospital now; call 999 if she is also short of breath.
- Being sick so much she can't keep fluids down for a day, or passing very little urine: see a doctor today.
- Itching on the hands and feet in later pregnancy: see a doctor today.
- Burning or pain when passing urine: see a doctor today.
- Thoughts of harming herself, or of not wanting to live: stay calm and close to her; call 999 if she is in danger now; otherwise see a doctor the same day.
- Someone at home is hurting her or threatening her: if she is in danger now, call 999.
After the birth: call 999
- Bleeding that soaks a pad in an hour or less, or large clots: call 999 and go to hospital now.
- A fit; severe headache with vision changes; sudden swelling of the face or hands: call 999 and go to hospital now.
- Trouble breathing, chest pain: call 999 and go to hospital now.
A birth plan is a few decisions made early, so that the family can move fast on the day. ParentMind helps you note what happens each day, see patterns and get guidance: how ParentMind works.
Questions parents ask
When should I make a birth plan?
By about 28 weeks is a good time. It leaves several weeks to find donors, test the night transport and set money aside before the last, busier weeks, and some babies come before the due date. Start earlier if your doctor expects an early birth, or if she will travel to her mother's house. Update the plan at the 36-week checkup.
What should be included in a birth plan in Bangladesh?
Eight things: her due date and weeks; the hospital, with its number and address; the doctor or midwife; night transport with a driver who will come at any hour; who goes with her and who stays with older children; her blood group and two or three donors; money set aside; and the papers: NID, checkup card, reports and blood-group report.
Why do we need blood donors before delivery?
Because heavy bleeding during or after a birth can need blood quickly, and finding a matching donor at night, in a strange hospital, takes time the family may not have. Two or three relatives or friends with her blood group who have already said yes, with their numbers on the card, is one of the most useful parts of the whole plan.
How much money should we keep aside for delivery?
There is no single figure. Costs differ a lot between government hospitals, private clinics and cities, and between a normal birth and a caesarean. Ask your chosen hospital for both, add transport, medicines and a few days of food, and keep that amount in a separate place nobody touches, with a little extra for an emergency.
Can we decide in advance between a normal delivery and a C-section?
You can tell the doctor what you hope for and ask every question you have, but the final decision depends on how the pregnancy and labour go, and the doctor may advise a caesarean before or during labour. The practical answer is to plan for both: a hospital that can do both, money for either, and a bag packed for a longer stay.
What if she is going to her mother's house for the delivery?
Make the whole plan for that town, not just for your own home: the hospital there, a local driver who will come at night, and donors who live nearby. Ask the doctor when it is safe to travel, and go before the last weeks. Take the checkup card and every report, and share the card with her family there.
This article is general information, not medical advice. For health worries, talk to a doctor; if someone is in danger, contact your local emergency number.
