Meanings of the childbirth plan for women that participated in the Meanings of Childbirth Exhibit

This study aimed to analyze the perspective of women who used the childbirth plan on their childbirth experience, the meanings of the childbirth plan and its components, and the relationship between the childbirth plan and labor and delivery. A qualitative descriptive study was performed. Data were collected with the questionnaire Meanings of Birth - Postpartum Contacts, applied via telephone contact. The study included women from the city and greater metropolitan area of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, that participated in the Meanings of Childbirth Exhibit in May-June 2015 and March 2016, when they were pregnant, with date of previous childbirth having occurred at least a year previously and without having experienced abortion. The questions were analyzed with content analysis. Data analysis revealed the following categories related to the childbirth plan: "presence of an accompanying person", "information on procedures", "use of pain relief methods", "use of anesthesia to continue with normal delivery", "eating during labor", "presence of a doula", "no unnecessary intervention", "normal delivery", "umbilical cord cut after pulsation", "presence of postpartum breastfeeding", and "respect/treatment". There was a direct relationship between performing the childbirth plan and a positive childbirth experience. This highlights the importance of using the childbirth plan as a technique that favors a positive childbirth experience. Women's development of the plan during prenatal care and its use by the attending healthcare team contributes to favorable labor.