Birth Center

Find a Birth Center in Your Area

What should you expect from a birth center?

• Relaxed and warm atmosphere
• The option of returning home shortly after the birth
• A team of health care providers that can include nurse-midwives, direct-entry midwives, or nurses working with an obstetrician
• The facility may be free-standing, on hospital grounds or inside a hospital.

Because birthing centers can vary significantly, you should become familiar with their philosophy of care, mission statement and objectives, and take the time to interview their personnel.

Acceptable birth centers can be identified by the following:

• No Induction
• No augmentation of labor with Pitocin (oxytocin)
• No electronic fetal monitoring except Doppler ultrasound
• No drugs for pain relief except local analgesic to suture tears in the perineum
• Very few episiotomies
• No operative deliveries
• In many birth centers, the only equipment is oxygen and catheters used to clear a baby’s airways if necessary.

If the birth center is connected to a hospital, medical intervention can be a routine part of their care. When choosing a birth center connected to a hospital, ask if it has its own staff or is staffed by hospital personnel. You might also want to know when and how often the birthing center would rely on the assistance of hospital personnel.

A birth center might not be the right fit for you if:

• You are expecting twins
• You are diabetic
• You have preeclampsia (pregnancy induced high blood pressure)

Questions to Ask a Birth Center:

• What is the transfer rate of women from the center to a hospital (a rate of 7-12% is reasonable)
• In what situations would you induce labor with Pitocin (oxytocin) or by breaking the amniotic sac (amniotomy)?
• Is electronic fetal monitoring used? If so, in what situations and what kind: Doppler ultrasound, scalp clips or abdominal belts?
• Is intravenous glucose given? If so, in what situations, and can the mother refuse it?
• Are analgesic drugs used?
• Do they offer epidural anesthesia?
• Do they have a time limit on the second stage of labor?
• What percentage of their women have episiotomies? (Less than 10% is normal)
• Do they ever provide assisted deliveries with forceps or suction? If so, in what situations?
• Can I walk around during labor?
• Can I give birth on the floor if I wish?
• Can I give birth standing up?
• How do you help a woman who is having back labor?
• Can I take a bath or shower during labor?
• Can my other children be present during labor and/or birth?
• Can I eat and drink during labor?
• Will there be a midwife with me throughout the first stage?
• Is there a birth pool?

Women are designed to give birth. Consequently, some women prefer not to view labor and birth as a medical condition, but rather as the culmination of a beautiful and natural nine-month process. Birthing centers are typically committed to providing prenatal care and educating women in order to optimize their personal birth experience.

Your Next Steps

• Find a Birth Center in your area

• Contact your local hospital to find out if they are affiliated with any birth centers
• Read more about using a Midwife for your birth

Compiled using information from the following sources:

American Association of Birth Centers, http://www.birthcenters.org/

Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Newborn: The Complete Guide. Simkin, Penny, P.T., et al, Ch. 1.

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