Are Birth Centers Safe?
Choosing your birth place is an important decision. Whether you give birth in a birth center or a hospital setting depends on several different factors.
You should research and decide what’s best given your medical history, previous pregnancies, and your preference for the type of birth you desire!
What Are Birth Centers?
A birth center is a healthcare facility for women’s healthcare, childbirth, and postpartum care. At a birth center, the care is provided according to the midwifery mode of care. The birth center is a freestanding healthcare facility, not directly affiliated with a hospital. However, a birth center should have great relationships with surrounding hospitals and healthcare facilities to provide you with the best all around care and emergency management options.
Birth centers are a critical component of the healthcare system. The care provided focuses on on empowerment, sensitivity, safety, appropriate levels of medical intervention, and cost-effectiveness.
Care from a midwife at a birth center encourages the physiological process of birth without medical or surgical intervention. Midwives believe that each client is entitled to make informed decisions regarding their health. It is their utmost priority to provide them with a safe environment where they have the freedom to do so.
Unlike a hospital setting, a birth center is aimed to provide a more home-like, comfortable environment and even allows a mother’s support system to be participants in the birth experience.
Safety and Accreditation
Birth centers are different from hospitals, but that does not mean they aren’t held to a high medical standard.
Birth centers should be accredited by the Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers (CABC). They have strict standards and trained site visitors who assess birth centers according to set standards.
Adherence to Standards
These standards include the following elements:
- Philosophy and Scope of Service
- Planning, Governance, and Administration
- Human Resources
- Facility, Equipment, and Supplies
- The Health Record
- Research
- Quality Evaluation and Improvement
Following these standards ensures the safety and reliability of a birth center. It helps care providers build an environment that helps mothers feel comfortable and cared for.
Eligibility and Risk Assessment
Everyone who chooses to give birth at a birth center must undergo a risk assessment to ensure their eligibility to give birth there.
Certain conditions may prevent a client from having a birth center birth. These include:
- Placental abruption
- Breech presentation of the baby
- Premature birth
- Maternal conditions such as heart conditions, hypertension, or diabetes
- Fetal conditions such as birth defects that would require immediate medical attention
Apart from these, your healthcare provider may advise against a natural birth due to other causes. In those cases, a hospital delivery may be the best option since they are equipped to deal with emergencies.
Emergency Preparedness
To start, birth centers only take clients eligible for a safe, natural birth. If a condition puts them at risk for complications, they are advised against opting for a birth center.
If we assess that a mother is no longer eligible for a natural birth, we start talking to them about transferring to a hospital setting and returning for postpartum care.
In case an emergency arises at the very last moment, we have midwives trained to handle the situation until we can transfer the client to a hospital setting. We also encourage our clients to prepare for emergencies in their birth plans, shortening the time required for decision-making.
If you want to learn more about the safety of our care, send us a message!