Birth Centre Stories?

Parentberries
1

[name_m]Hi[/name_m] everyone! I was wondering if any of you have given birth or are planning to give birth at a birth centre? I would love to hear about your experiences (whether positive or negative)!

I am in the catchment area for a hospital that has a birth centre attached, but to be eligible for the birth centre I have to get in early and tell my GP if I’d like to be considered for it at my confirmation appointment on [name_f]Tuesday[/name_f]. My name will then go into a pot with a bunch of others and names will be drawn in a few weeks to fill up the limited spaces at the centre. I’m feeling a bit conflicted at the moment, but I’ve decided to put my name down because if I’m chosen I can always decline and the spot will go to someone on a waiting list.

I’m conflicted because I’m not the sort of person I imagine using a birth centre. The few mothers I know who have used them were very steadfastly dead-set against any intervention, medication, C-sections, etc. Very strong-minded people who had a detailed birth plan laid out the second they found out they’re pregnant detailing every movement the midwives needed to go through to help them have the perfect birth. I’m not saying that this is bad, but it’s just not who I am, and I guess I’m worried that if I’m not that focused on having an all-natural birth, I won’t be able to have one!

What appeals to me about the birth centre is all that I listed above–not being hooked up to a monitor the whole time, not having the midwives push for an epidural (the thought of that needle going into my spine freaks me out!), hopefully coming out of it without needing major surgery. BUT at the same time, my birth plan at the moment is “bring home a healthy baby.” I don’t really care how that happens. If I’m not handling the pain very well, I don’t really care if I do need an epidural. If the baby is at all distressed, I’d prefer a C-section ASAP. (The operating room is right down the hall so obviously if lives were in danger they wouldn’t hesitate.)

Basically, to me all that the birth centre offers–and in particular the homey vs. clinical feel, and being able to go home within hours–is very appealing. It sounds very nice. But I’m not dead-set on any of it. And I would hate to take up a space that someone else desperately wanted only to ask for an epidural and get moved to the regular hospital (which is what happens for epidural administration–after a bit of a scolding from the midwives, according to reviews!).

Anyway. [name_m]Just[/name_m] looking for some real-life experiences. Obviously I’ll be asking my GP and the hospital some questions about it in the fullness of time, but I thought I’d look for some honest stories from you all. The centre has birth stories on their website and they all seem wonderful (including from one mother who did end up having to have a C-section) but of course they probably wouldn’t put up any negative stories on their site!

2

Are you in [name_f]Canada[/name_f]? Things are different here in the US. My hospital has a Family Birthing Center, but it’s really just a regular hospital with a fancy name. I feel that what you are talking about is different. And I don’t know what a catchment area is. Please pardon my ignorance!

3

It’s okay! I’m in Australia actually, though I’m American so it’s all a bit foreign to me too! A catchment area is just the area that the hospital serves. There are two major maternity hospitals in the city, so all the different suburbs are divided between them. Based on the suburb I live in, I would go to the hospital with the birth centre. I’m not eligible to go to Hospital #2 because my suburb isn’t in their catchment area. Does that make sense?

The two women I know who gave birth in a birth centre were actually in the US, and theirs weren’t really regular hospitals (at least, that wasn’t my image of them from what they said)–it was almost more like a home birth experience, but away from home. If a C-section was necessary, they would have had to be transferred to the nearest hospital. Again, this is just from what I gathered–I wasn’t hugely close to these women and didn’t ask too many questions at the time, and didn’t actually see the centres or anything!

The birth centre I’m looking at actually sounds a lot closer to a hospital with a fancy name. It’s basically a wing of the hospital (so maybe like the one you’re familiar with?) though the rooms look like bedrooms rather than hospital rooms. The practices are a bit different: very little monitoring, there’s the option of a birth pool I believe, they discourage any pain medication, and they encourage going home as soon as the mother and baby feel able. But like I said, it’s attached to the hospital so there are tons of doctors and an operating room right down the hall in case of a C-section.

4

I’m in NZ and had all of my babies in a birth centre. I think they are wonderful places and I would chose it over a hospital if I ever had another babe. I think Australia and NZ have fairly similar maternity care but in NZ you can choose to have your baby in a hospital or birth centre, there is no eligibility, you just go where you feel comfortable going (if what you want is available in your area).

The reasons I chose the birth centre over a hospital are kind of the reasons you have listed as to why you might choose a centre. No drugs, birth pool, no interventions, no monitors, moving about in labour etc… Those were all things I wanted and I was a low risk case so there was no need to be close to the epidural or the hospital. For all my births I stayed in the centre and had non-intervention births. although, for my second baby the delivery stage was very quick and I lost a small amount of blood. Because I wasn’t monitored at all (she was born five minutes after I arrived) I was sent to the hospital via ambulance. My midwife just wanted to be sure I was ok, and I was. Seeing as you are so close to the hospital I think the birth centre sounds perfect (the hospital was 30 bumpy rush hour minutes away via speeding ambulance for me!). If I were you I would absolutely go to the birth centre, don’t worry about taking a place, it’s your right to have the birth you want, if you want the birth centre, even just a little bit, you should be able to go there. You don’t need a birth plan that covers off every tiny detail, but a clear idea of what you want in an ideal world is in my opinion a good idea.

I also know of many people who have had labours in birth centres and for various reasons have been transferred to hospitals to have either ventouse or forceps or Caesarean sections. I think if the midwife care is good then if intervention is needed you will be moved to where you need to be.

Good luck deciding. I am a vote for the birth centre, though I am not 100% sure they are the exact same thing in Aus and NZ.

5

I think that since the birth centre is right at the hospital I’d go ahead and use the centre since if any interventions ended up being needed you would be right there.

I’m in the U.S. so I’m guessing there are quite a few differences, but I had my first baby in [name_u]November[/name_u] at a hospital. Quite honestly the nurses and midwife (you get a midwife or doctor depending who is on duty when it’s time to deliver) were wonderful at not pushing a medicated birth. Granted I went in and had a baby 45 minutes after arriving, but they were all great at giving me the best birthing experience. Since I didn’t have meds I was able to get out of bed about 2 hours after having LO. They just monitored my blood pressure, standard since you lose blood, and massaged my uterus to help it shrink. I was able to go home the next day.

I think maybe finding out the protocol, procedures at the hospital is smart and then decide to which lines up more with what you would prefer. I think that going into labor and delivery with an open mind is the best bet. I went in not knowing if I wanted an epidural or not, didn’t end up with one.
Good luck with whatever you choose.

6

I’d request the birth center. You can always back out if you’re not comfortable with it later, but you can only get into the lottery now!

My hospital is similar, but not (yet) a birthing center or with one attached. We had the option to opt out of IVs and monitoring, nobody pushed an epidural (though they’re available), each family gets a private bedroom style room (more like a hotel/hospital room hybrid than regular hospital room). Babies don’t go to the nursery unless they need extra monitoring or care (they took my daughter for her bath once and then she needed an extra hearing test, so she was separated from me for all of an hour during the first three days). They’re putting birthing pools in but idk if they’ll be there by the time this baby is born. It’s nice because of anything goes wrong, the medical teams are RIGHT there. My daughter needed a NICU assessment immediately after birth, and I think if I was in a birthing center (our nearest is an hour away), I might have been transported to a hospital (meconium in my fluid). It was very easy to be having a comfortable birth where I could do things like delay cord clamping, immediate breastfeeding, not have my daughter taken away for an examination, etc…and when something went unexpectedly they just paged the pediatric team and they were right there to check her.

7

I am due in [name_u]November[/name_u] and I’m planning to give birth in a free standing birth center. This is my first pregnancy (but second child.) The birth center here is 2 miles from the hospital and the certfied nurse-midwives all have full hospital privileges. They only take low risk patients, and they transfer you to the hospital (the midwives go with you) if there are any issues. I feel like they are a good balance of science and woo, if that makes sense. Like they are all about natural birth and breastfeeding and woman empowerment, but they also have pro - vaccine posters up everywhere. Of course woman empowerment and vaccines should not be mutually exclusive, but they are often treated as such.

I think that I am like you in that I don’t have this strong desire for a specific low-intervention birth that drove me to choose the birth center. Instead, I decided to have
a low intervention birth so that I could go to the birth center.

The prenatal care at the birth center is really excellent. I am seen promptly at each appointment. The appointments are long (2 hours for the first, 30 mins for all others) and the midwife is there for the entire appointment. I can bring my 3 year old son to all appointments! And if there is a procedure I don’t want him to see, the staff entertains him in the waiting room. No joke.

I have a lot of friends who used the birth center and they all loved it, even the ones who ended up transferring and having more interventions. Maybe this sounds dumb, but I figure the birth is just one day. Prenatal and postpartum care (which they come to your house for, for real) lasts for months.

I also like that they let you do what you like during labor (no progress checks, no deadlines, no continual monitoring, no IVs), there are showers and tubs you can birth in, they have a very low rate of episitomies (but they can do them if they need to), and they don’t take the baby away at all.

So I don’t know if there is a difference for you about the prenatal care since yours is in the same facility. But from what you’ve said, it does sound like a nicer experience. Can you ask around and see if you can find other women locally who have used it? I would go ahead and sign up for it. [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t feel guilty if you end giving birth in the actual hospital instead. [name_m]Don[/name_m]'t let the midwives make you feel guilty, either. I mean, don’t go in thinking, “hey, I am going down the hall as soon as this hurts” cause it is going to hurt like hell. The phrase “ring of fire” is a cliche for a reason. But if something happens that you need more help, don’t feel bad about it. You are going to make the best decision that you can at the time.

8

Thank you everyone for all of your stories and thoughts! You’ve made me feel a lot more confident about putting my name down. I will of course still be talking to my doctor tomorrow but I’m definitely feeling a bit better about it.

@tarynkay – The prenatal care at the birth centre is something that appeals to me as well. Not too sure about postnatal care–that’s something I can add to my list of questions!