Delivery timeline builder
The short answer
Write down what you remember, in order, while it is fresh. Memory fades faster than anyone expects, and details that seem small turn out to matter.
Use the prompts below. They are the things that turn out to be important when families later read their records. 1
The numbers, up front
- Why do this now
- The labor record is a timed document, and your memory of the same hours is the only account of what you were told and what you asked 1
- What to record
- Times, who came in, what was said, when anything changed, and when you raised a concern 2
- Approximate is fine
- Write "about 3 a.m." rather than leaving it blank. Approximate times can still be lined up against the record 1
- What it is for
- Reading it beside the medical record is how families build a single timeline of what happened 2
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Nothing you type here leaves your device. If you choose to save, it is saved in this browser on this device only, and you can delete it with one click.
Do this before you read the records, not after. Your own memory is more useful when it has not been shaped by the chart.
What to include
Times, even approximate. "About 3 a.m." is useful. A blank is not.
Who came in, and when. Names if you have them, roles if you do not.
What you were told, in the words used. Exact phrases matter more than summaries.
What you asked, and what the answer was. Including any time you raised a concern.
When anything changed. More people in the room. A change in tone. Equipment brought in.
What you noticed. Machines beeping. Someone leaving quickly. Anything that felt wrong.
The first minutes after birth. Whether your baby cried. Whether you saw them. When you first held them.
When you were told something was wrong, and the exact words.
What to do with it
Keep it. Print a copy and put it in your binder.
Do not change it later. If you remember something new, add it with the date you added it. A contemporaneous account that has been edited is worth less than one that has not.
Read it beside the records when they arrive. Line your times up against the fetal monitoring strip and the nursing notes. That comparison is how families build a single timeline of what happened. See how to read your labor and delivery records.
Ask your partner or whoever was there to write their own, separately, before comparing. Two accounts written independently are more useful than one written together.
Questions parents ask
I cannot remember exact times. Does that matter?
No. Write approximate times. "About 3 a.m." or "some time after the shift changed" can still be lined up against the record, which is timed throughout. 1 Blanks cannot.
Should I do this before or after I get the records?
Before. Your own memory is more useful when it has not been shaped by reading the chart, and the two accounts are more informative when they were built independently.
Is anything saved on a server?
No. Nothing you type leaves your device. If you press Save, a copy is stored in this browser on this device only. It is not sent anywhere and nobody else can see it. Delete removes it.
Where these facts come from
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Practice Bulletin 106, Intrapartum Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring: Nomenclature, Interpretation, and General Management Principles. 2009. www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/practice-bulletin. Link checked September 3, 2026.
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and American Academy of Pediatrics. Neonatal Encephalopathy and Neurologic Outcome, Second Edition. 2014. www.acog.org/clinical/clinical-guidance/task-force-report/ar. Link checked September 3, 2026.