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| Where Should You Have Your Baby? Hospital Birth Center Home Where Should You Have Your Baby? Choosing a place to birth your baby is one of the most important decisions you'll make as you journey toward parenthood. Ultimately, your choice will depend on how you answer these five questions:
Hospital Birth Most women in the U. S.– about 98% of them – have their baby in a hospital. For some, it's where they feel safest. For others, they may not know about – or have – any other options. When might you consider a hospital birth? |
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If you would like to have a natural birth in a hospital, you might want to consider choosing a midwife as your caregiver, since midwives are specifically trained in how to support a laboring mom with natural comfort measures. If your caregiver is an obstetrician, find out if he or she will be present during your labor to help with comfort measures. If not, you might want to consider hiring a non-medical labor assistant, called a doula, to stay by your side throughout your labor. A doula's role is to massage, suggest positions, encourage you, and help you recognize when you need to ask questions to remain as close to your Birth Preferences as possible. Birth Center |
| A birth center can be affiliated with or even physically attached to a hospital, or it can be an independent, free-standing facility operated by Licensed or Certified Nurse Midwives. Less than 1% of all pregnant moms have their babies in a birth center. Birth centers are an option for mothers who:
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You can find a birth center near you through the American Association of Birth Centers. Home Birth Less than a hundred years ago, it wasn't even a choice as to where a woman would give birth: most babies were born at home attended by a physician or a midwife. That's because hospitals had barely begun to get into the business of obstetrics. | |
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Today, less than 1% of women choose to birth at home, but a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control shows that the number of women opting for a homebirth is once again on the rise. Women choose to birth at home for a number of reasons:
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Most homebirths are assisted by midwives, while a minority of women choose an "unattended birth," where no medical caregiver is present. (NOTE: Happy Birth Way classes do not support unattended births.) How safe is it to have your baby at home? Recent studies conclude that homebirth can be as safe as a hospital birth for low-risk women, with transfers for an emergency cesarean at about 4%, far less than the national cesarean rate of 31%. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology sees homebirth from a different perspective, and believes that a hospital is the safest place for a woman to birth her baby. There's nothing like hearing about another mom's birth experience to help us make decisions about what we want for our own labor. To help expectant moms find information about the quality of care at hospitals and birth centers, a nationwide Birth Survey is now underway. See if hospitals, birth centers or caregivers from your area are listed. | |
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| Prenatal Nutrition Easy Eating for Two Sign-up > 45-Minute Webinars: Inducing Labor Tuesday, September 14 (10am) Sign-up > 45-Minute Webinars: Birth Options Tuesday, October 12 (10am) Sign-up > One-Day Childbirth Class:  |
"Hospital, Birth Center or Home?"
"Hospital, Birth Center or Home?"
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| "Gentle Birth Choices," by Barbara Harper > |
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