What Is A Birth Centre?

It is a health-care facility with birthing personnel like nurse-midwives, midwives and/or obstetricians. They are present for mothers in labour, who may also be assisted by doulas and coaches. A birth centre creates a home-like environment compared to a hospital labour ward. It provides a good environment where women can give birth and find healthcare that respects their choices. It is like being in a familiar setting plus emotional involvement of your family in your home, but feel reassured by the medical attention available in a hospital, you may want to consider giving birth in a birth centre.

What Are The Advantages And Disadvantages Of A Birth Center?

What Is A Birth Centre?

Advantages:

• During labour and delivery, birth centres allow the family participate and share time together. A team of obstetricians is always available to provide assistance when required.
• You can move around freely, choose the position you’d like to be in for labour and delivery, and eat and drink anything you choose during labour.
• You can decide to pick who you want to be with you during labour and delivery. Some hospitals limit how many people you can have at the birth. In a birth centre, if you’d like your children to be there, they’ll be warmly welcomed.
• Birth centres encourages mothers to breastfeed. They also make it a priority to provide breastfeeding education and support during the prenatal period, within your stay after you gave birth, and in the postpartum period.
• The average cost is about a third less compared to hospital birth because you usually stay for a shorter time and uses fewer interventions.
• The lower incidence of caesarean section and use of intra-partum anaesthesia is also compelling.

Disadvantages:

• No anaesthesia available
• Transfer from birth centre to hospital is required for complications with mother or baby.
• May not available to all women due to insurance or lack of birth centres in their area.
• Usually must leave birth centre within 6-10 hours after child delivery.
• Not all birth centres are the same. They can vary in a number of ways such as rates of using tests and procedures, policies and restrictions and characteristics of back-up hospital and physicians.

Who Are Allowed To Be In A Birth Center?

Birthing centre is an affordable birth option for pregnancies that are considered low risk and for women who are seeking to have a birth with little interventions. However, eligibility criteria differ from one birth centre to another. Women are carefully screened for low-risk pregnancies. Most birth centres are welcoming first-time mums, provided your pregnancy is low-risk and you are likely to have a straightforward labour. In addition, some birth centres won’t accept women over certain age (varies from one birth centre to another).

Birth Centers In Australia

Most birth centres are now being owned by midwives, with obstetric back-up only used when there are complications. In a response to the National Maternity Action Plan, State and Territory Governments in 2002 started to respond to consumer demand for an increased number of birth centres to be made available to women. Whilst most birth is attached to hospitals, some are being established as free-standing centres much further away from hospital back-up. As long as they are within 90 minutes away from the hospital, they are considered safe. Some birth centres in Australia are accepting women with medical complications but extra care is provided to them where necessary.

If you choose to give birth in a birth centre, you should choose that best meets your needs from among those available to you. It is encouraged that you should visit several birth centres and ask possible questions when learning birth centres and other birth settings.