CHOICE AND PERSONALISED CARE PLANS.
A personal care plan is owned by you, the birthing person. It records your choices, in each stage of your maternity care.
To enable you to develop your personal care plan, you should receive access to high-quality, meaningful information, usually via your Midwife, to support and empower you to make choices that are right for you and your family.
A CARE PLAN SHOULD BE
• Personalised
• Centered on the person, their baby, and family.
• Based on their needs and decisions, where they have a genuine choice
​• Informed by unbiased information
WHAT DOES PERSONALISED REALLY MEAN?
It means the development of a care plan by the person and the midwife.
Each plan is built individually upon the decisions that each person makes, and informed by an assessment of the care they might need.
It's an honest, open, and unbiased dialogue between pregnant people and health professionals, supported by evidence-based, easily accessible information.
HOW WILL IT BE DONE?
Discussions begin at the very first booking appointment and are built upon at each opportunity. A personalised care plan may include information such as -
• Cultural values and expectations about giving birth and becoming a parent
• Their home, family, professional life and support networks
• Their previous experiences of pregnancy/childbirth
• Any fears or concerns they may have
It should also record any health needs of the mother and baby; screening and diagnostic tests and the experience of previous pregnancies, mental health, and opportunities to improve underlying health.
The plan should then set out the decisions made about the care and support they wish to receive based on the information above. The plan should also reflect matters such as place of birth and birth choices. ​
DO YOU NEED SUPPORT WITH YOUR CHOICES AND CARE?
Conversations about your choices and personalised care plan should take place at each appointment with your midwife. If you have questions, your midwife is best placed to answer them and you can contact them on the information they provided you.
If you feel like your choices are not being listened to, or there are aspects of you care that aren't being personalised in the way that you wish, our advice is to speak to your midwife in the first instance to try and resolve this, however, we can support you further if needed. Get in touch, we're here to listen.