I want a natural labor experience, but I don't want to give birth at home. Do I have another option?
Yes, you may want to deliver at a birth center. If you're a healthy woman at low risk for pregnancy and birth complications and you want a more natural, family-centered experience without routine medical interventions — such as IVs and electronic fetal monitoring — this is an option for you.
Birth centers offer a low-tech, comfortable place for childbirth that's safer than having your baby at home if problems arise. If you choose an accredited birth center, you'll be cared for by licensed professionals, usually a midwife and a nurse, with a backup hospital nearby and a doctor on call in case of an emergency.
Birth centers aren't mini-hospitals — your labor will never be induced or stimulated with oxytocin (Pitocin) there, and c-sections are not done at birth centers. But such centers are equipped with IVs, oxygen, medication, and infant resuscitation equipment, so if need be, emergency care can be started while you and your baby await transport to the hospital.
Typically, a birth center is an independent facility, though a growing number are affiliated with and often housed inside hospitals.
At a freestanding birth center, you'll get prenatal care throughout your pregnancy, give birth there, and go there for your postpartum checkups. Birth centers also offer childbirth education and breastfeeding classes.
In-hospital birth centers operate a little differently. They're usually available to any midwife or doctor who has admitting privileges at the hospital, but your prenatal visits will probably be at your caregiver's office.
