Birthing Centers vs. Hospitals

If you are a perfectly healthy woman at low risk for any pregnancy and birth complications who happens to be wanting a more natural , family-centered experience without all of the annoying routine medical interventions (like IVs and electronic fetal monitoring), then you may very well want to consider having your baby delivered at a birthing center. They offer a low-tech, high-touch, personalized, and extremely comfortable place for childbirth. Every accredited birthing center will care for you with licensed professionals, usually a midwife and a nurse, with a backup hospital nearby and a doctor on call in case of any emergency.

Birthing centers are not to be confused with mini-hospitals. Labor will never be induced or "helped along” and c-sections are never performed at birthing centers, only by doctors at hospitals when necessary. However, they are equipped with IVs, oxygen, medication, and infant resuscitation equipment in case emergency care needs to be started while you or your baby are awaiting transport to the hospital.

Birthing centers never routinely use interventions. You will not automatically be hooked up to an IV, and instead of a continuous electronic fetal monitoring which often requires you to stay in bed, a midwife or nurse will monitor your baby's heartbeat intermittently with a handheld Doppler similar to the one during your prenatal visits.

One huge advantage: after you give birth, there are no routine policies or procedures that require you to be separated from your baby. Every examination, including the first bath, can take place in your room. Breastfeeding is usually encouraged, the same as at hospitals, the private rooms are nicer, checkout is quicker (usually 12-24 hours), and the overall cost is usually lower. (1/3 the cost is NOT uncommon)

All accredited birthing centers have a backup arrangement with doctors and a nearby hospital in case you need to be transferred there during labor, birth, or postpartum. Drug free births are strongly encouraged; Demerol is provided, but epidurals are not. You may move around freely, choose the position that you want for labor and birth, and eat and drink anything you choose during labor. You may also have anyone present in the room that you wish, including children.

Overall, it is just as safe to give birth in a birthing center as a hospital, and it is cheaper. A nearby hospital and doctor is always on call just in case, but only one in every eight women ever have to switch and that is usually only when labor has to be induced. You can always make sure that they are accredited by calling The American Association of Birth Centers, or visiting their website at www.birthcenters.org for more information.

Fighting for the uninsured and underinsured pregnant mom and their unborn babies,
Advocate Aaron