Childbirth Medical Birth Centers

Where Will This Baby Be Born?

Pregnancy opens the door to myriad factors that must be considered before the baby enters this world. Perhaps one of the most important decisions a couple will make is where their baby will be born. Determining whether your baby will be born in a hospital, a hospital birth center, or a birthing center outside of a hospital requires research and asking many questions. Some women decide to have their babies at home, and for those women who have low-risk pregnancies and are healthy, there's no reason why it shouldn't be so.

The fact is that birthing a baby is a natural and normal function for a woman, and her body really does know exactly what to do, as long as the practices employed are in sync with the physiological processes. Having said that, the use of experienced and trained caregivers during the birthing process is something that is consistent in all cultures and has been throughout the ages. The fact that there are well-trained professionals involved and access to medical care if necessary is one of the main reasons women and babies almost never die in childbirth these days.

Medical Birth Center

Going through childbirth in a medical birth center is essentially having the baby in the hospital. Traditionally, a laboring mom is moved from the labor room to the delivery room and then, after the baby is delivered by a doctor who manages the delivery, mom is moved to a hospital room and baby is carted off to the nursery. Childbirth in a medical birth center means that a woman has access to pain medication during her labor and delivery if she chooses to avail herself of it, labor will be induced if the doctor doesn't feel it is going along as it should, and the mom will be hooked up to an electronic baby monitor for the entire process. Movement is restricted, food is forbidden, and everything is carefully regulated, according to hospital policy.

Medical Center Birthing Centers

With the push toward more natural child-birthing methods, many hospitals and medical centers have birthing centers in them. Low-risk births can take place in rooms that are considered family-centered birthing rooms. In these rooms a woman can labor, deliver her baby and recover in one place without being moved from room to room. The rooms are generally decorated in as homey a way as possible with soft colors and rocking chairs, a shower or bath, and the baby can stay with the mother most of the time, rather than in the nursery.

Family Health & Birth Centers

Additionally, there are family health and birthing centers that provide education and preparation classes for couples beforehand to prepare them for the birth experience. Family health and birthing centers not only care for the mother and baby, but help with any needs that are relevant to other members of the family as well. This would include practical advice and education on issues such as sexually transmitted diseases and the dangers of smoking. In some states, family health and birthing centers meet the needs of low-income families who have several children and no means of support that would pay for health care.

Women's Health & Birth Centers

When it comes to women's health, birth centers are well equipped to deal with all eventualities. A birth center is most appropriate for women who have had a problem-free delivery before and whose current pregnancy is considered to be low-risk. Careful screening, done early in the pregnancy, as well as effective prenatal care throughout the pregnancy, give the professionals a good idea of the health of both mother and baby when the time comes to deliver. The focus of a birth center is natural childbirth, which means that women are moving around freely during labor, eating if they are hungry, availing themselves of comfort as needed (massage, compresses, visualization, and relaxation techniques), and generally allowed to have their babies their way.

With the tremendous growth in health care, more and more women are opting for the most natural way to give birth to their babies.