How to Choose a Birth Center

Midwifery is an ancient tradition that has become an increasingly popular choice for low-risk pregnancies. Many women choose to pursue care away from hospitals, due to religious or cultural preferences or geographic location. Midwives are also able to provide relationship-based care, when a personal rapport and trust develops from seeing the same caregiver throughout prenatal, birth and neonatal care. Well-educated, licensed midwifes can provide exceptional and relevant care to healthy mothers and babies.



For expectant Mothers who have multiple birth center options in their region, interviewing birth centers can seem daunting. It is important to initially ensure with a Physician that you are sufficiently low-risk to pursue an out of hospital birth. Ensure that the birth center and midwives are qualified and licensed. Most midwives offer free or low cost interviews to prospective patients.

Instructions

• 1

  Ask your physician if a birth center is a good choice for you. Based on your medical history and a physical examination, they will be able to determine if risk factors are sufficiently low to choose care with a midwife. Physicians can also be an excellent resource for recommending reputable birth centers in the area.

• 2

  Initiate an honest dialogue with your partner or birth coach about expectations for the birth experience. Evaluate whether you wish to have family, friends or pets in attendance. Determine if there are religious or cultural traditions that should be incorporated into the birth plan. Many birth centers offer the option of home births; discuss your family's comfort level with this option, if applicable. Be prepared to present these preferences at an interview with a potential birth center.

• 3

  Inquire if both the birth center and midwife are actively licensed. Not all midwives have current licenses. Do not be hesitant to inquire about when and where a potential midwife received her education. It is important to have confidence in their experience and expertise. Further, many midwives work on teams - if you will be birthing with a team, ensure that all other members are also qualified.

• 4

  Request a copy of the birth center's annual statistics of patient demographics and outcomes of prenatal care. These statistics should include complications, medical interventions and the number of births which required emergency transport to a hospital or emergency cesarean sections. If the birth center is unwilling to release these statistics, or any of their numbers seem unusually high or low, it is important to discuss these concerns with your physician.

• 5

  Determine if the birth center is prepared to deal with unexpected complications. Most birth centers are not able to provide care for extremely early or late labor, due to an increased risk of maternal and neonatal complications. Ask the midwife what natural induction methods and pain relief they may use to manage labors. It is essential to ensure that oxygen is available at birth and that members of the midwifery team are prepared and competent in administering anti-hemorrhagic medications and neonatal resuscitation.