Birth Centers.
For some families, a birth center offers a welcoming middle ground between home birth and hospital birth. There are currently no freestanding birth centers in Alabama. A family might prefer to give birth at a birth center instead of in their home if the center is located closer to a back-up hospital, if the center offers comfort amenities (such as a birthing tub, ball, stool, bar), or if the mother feels safer and more relaxed away from home.
What is a birth center?
According to The American Association of Birth Centers, a birth center is defined as:
"A home-like setting where care providers, usually midwives, provide family-centered care to healthy pregnant women. Most birth centers are located separately from hospitals, while a few are physically inside hospital buildings. In-hospital birth centers must meet certain standards for independence and must be separate from the Labor and Delivery unit in order to be considered true birth centers."
Pregnancy and childbirth are healthy, normal life events for most women and babies. In birth centers, midwives and staff provide continuous, supportive care and interventions are used only when medically necessary. Care is individualized and women are encouraged to eat if they are hungry, move about and spend time in a tub as they wish, and push in whatever positions they find most comfortable. The staff are usually very hands off and afford the family privacy and control of the situation, all while diligently watching for signs that might indicate the need for more intensive monitoring or transfer to a back-up facility.
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG) and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) released a consensus document (Feb. 2015) that attempts to define birth centers, basic care facilities (level I), specialty care facilities (level II), subspecialty care facilities (level III), and regional perinatal health care centers (level IV). They go on to recognize Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs), Certified Midwives (CMs), Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs), family physicians, and OB-GYNs as qualified primary maternal care providers in the birth center setting.
Nationally, there are exciting efforts underway to support high standards and inspire excellence through the accreditation of birth centers.
The Alabama Birth Coalition is engaging stakeholders and exploring ways to start a birth center in Alabama. If this issue is important to you, please submit your information on the Contact Form on the Home page and follow us on social media.
