Awareness

As you explore the option of a birth center for your prenatal and birthing needs, it's essential to understand the criteria, practices, and benefits involved.
Below, you'll find a comprehensive FAQ that addresses common questions and clarifies what to expect during your birth journey:
The American Association of Birth Centers defines a birth center as:
    • The birth center is an innovation combining modern medical techniques and traditional childbearing knowledge  in the delivery of care to healthy, pregnant people and families. It is a healthcare facility for childbirth where care is provided in the midwifery and wellness model. The birth center is freestanding and not a hospital.
    • Birth centers are an integrated part of the healthcare system and are guided by principles of prevention, sensitivity, safety, appropriate medical intervention, and cost effectiveness. While the practice of midwifery and the support of physiologic birth and newborn transition may occur in other settings, this is the exclusive model of care in a birth center.
    • The birth center respects and facilitates a person’s right to make informed choices about their health care and their baby’s health care based on her values and beliefs. The pregnant person’s family, as they define it, is welcome to participate in the pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period.
    • Birth centers include a team of highly qualified professionals from midwifery, nursing, obstetrics, family medicine, pediatrics, nutrition, social work, physical fitness, childbirth, and parenting education.
    • Birth center midwifery providers include Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNMs), Certified Midwives (CMs) and Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs).
 
Birth centers are recognized as a safe choice for low-risk, healthy individuals. They combine the comfort and relaxed atmosphere of a home-like setting with the advantages of a fully-equipped medical facility. The National Birth Center Study II, featured in the Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health, reveals that these centers consistently yield positive outcomes for both mothers and babies, particularly with a marked reduction in the rate of cesarean sections.  Highlights from the study:
    • Fewer than 1 in 16 (6%) of the study participants had a cesarean birth, while the U.S. cesarean rate reached 32.8% in 2010. For similar low-risk women receiving care in the hospital setting, the current rate is estimated to be 24%.
    • Professional associations of midwives, nurses, and physicians have prioritized efforts to decrease the cesarean rate. While cesarean birth is sometimes necessary due to the condition of the mother or baby, the procedure has many short- and long term implications for women, their newborns, and future pregnancies.
    • Fetal and newborn mortality rates in the study were low (0.47/1000 births and 0.40/1000 births, respectively) and were comparable to those in low-risk births in hospital settings. There were no maternal deaths.
    • Most transfers from birth center to hospital were not emergencies, with only 1.9% of women or their newborns experiencing a complication during labor or after birth that required urgent transfer to a hospital.
Managing pain during a natural birth without an epidural can be achieved through a combination of physical, psychological, and environmental strategies. Here are some methods that can be used:
    • Breathing Techniques: Deep, focused breathing can be incredibly helpful. Slow, rhythmic breathing can help to both distract from and cope with contractions.
    • Position Changes: Moving around and changing positions can help reduce pain. Squatting, kneeling, or walking can assist in progressing labor and alleviating discomfort.
    • Warm Water: Immersing in a warm bath or taking a warm shower can be soothing. Some birth centers and hospitals offer birthing pools for this purpose.
    • Acupressure and Reflexology: These are traditional methods where pressure is applied to specific points on the body to alleviate pain.
    • Hypnobirthing: This is a birthing method that uses self-hypnosis and relaxation techniques to help a woman feel physically, mentally, and spiritually prepared and reduce her awareness of fear, anxiety, and pain during childbirth.
    • Doula Support: A doula is a trained professional who provides emotional, physical, and educational support before, during, and after childbirth. They can offer comfort measures and support throughout labor.
For more information, please check out this recent article in Parents magazine.
Lilac Health - Birth & Wellness Centers are conveniently situated just a few miles away from the nearest hospital equipped with emergency services and a NICU. Our center's staff regularly engage in emergency drills. We also incorporate local EMS responders into our emergency protocols. Additionally, we maintain direct communication lines with the hospital. This ensures a seamless transfer of records and gives the hospital advanced notice of our arrival, streamlining the transfer process as much as possible. For non-emergency transfers and epidurals, we have established relationships with hospital-based midwifery teams. These teams are readily available to accept our clients. They aim to honor and integrate as many elements of your initial birth plan as the hospital's policies and the situation's safety will permit.
Lilac Health emphasizes the importance of care built on relationships. While we understand that our clients have expectations of us as their care providers, we also have expectations for them in return. We hope our clients will actively engage in their own care and maintain the best health to achieve their desired birthing experience. While we hold a client’s right to informed decision-making in high regard, we do set certain care criteria to ensure that a client is low-risk and suitable for our birth center services.
    • Clients should actively engage in their prenatal care, attending regular appointments and maintaining overall good health.
    • It's essential for the baby to display normal growth patterns as observed through measurements and ultrasounds.
    • We cannot accommodate transfers beyond the 32nd week of pregnancy.
    • A history of multiple Cesarean deliveries may limit eligibility.
    • Conditions such as gestational diabetes requiring medication, hypertension, or preeclampsia need special consideration.
    • Maintaining a pre-pregnancy BMI under 40 is preferable.
    • Continuous substance use during pregnancy, including THC, nicotine, drugs, or alcohol, is a significant concern.
The American Association of Birth Centers defines a birth center as:
    • The birth center is an innovation combining modern medical techniques and traditional childbearing knowledge  in the delivery of care to healthy, pregnant people and families. It is a healthcare facility for childbirth where care is provided in the midwifery and wellness model. The birth center is freestanding and not a hospital.
    • Birth centers are an integrated part of the healthcare system and are guided by principles of prevention, sensitivity, safety, appropriate medical intervention, and cost effectiveness. While the practice of midwifery and the support of physiologic birth and newborn transition may occur in other settings, this is the exclusive model of care in a birth center.
    • The birth center respects and facilitates a person’s right to make informed choices about their health care and their baby’s health care based on her values and beliefs. The pregnant person’s family, as they define it, is welcome to participate in the pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period.
    • Birth centers include a team of highly qualified professionals from midwifery, nursing, obstetrics, family medicine, pediatrics, nutrition, social work, physical fitness, childbirth, and parenting education.
    • Birth center midwifery providers include Certified Nurse-Midwives (CNMs), Certified Midwives (CMs) and Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs).
 
Birth centers are recognized as a safe choice for low-risk, healthy individuals. They combine the comfort and relaxed atmosphere of a home-like setting with the advantages of a fully-equipped medical facility. The National Birth Center Study II, featured in the Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health, reveals that these centers consistently yield positive outcomes for both mothers and babies, particularly with a marked reduction in the rate of cesarean sections.  Highlights from the study:
    • Fewer than 1 in 16 (6%) of the study participants had a cesarean birth, while the U.S. cesarean rate reached 32.8% in 2010. For similar low-risk women receiving care in the hospital setting, the current rate is estimated to be 24%.
    • Professional associations of midwives, nurses, and physicians have prioritized efforts to decrease the cesarean rate. While cesarean birth is sometimes necessary due to the condition of the mother or baby, the procedure has many short- and long term implications for women, their newborns, and future pregnancies.
    • Fetal and newborn mortality rates in the study were low (0.47/1000 births and 0.40/1000 births, respectively) and were comparable to those in low-risk births in hospital settings. There were no maternal deaths.
    • Most transfers from birth center to hospital were not emergencies, with only 1.9% of women or their newborns experiencing a complication during labor or after birth that required urgent transfer to a hospital.
Managing pain during a natural birth without an epidural can be achieved through a combination of physical, psychological, and environmental strategies. Here are some methods that can be used:
    • Breathing Techniques: Deep, focused breathing can be incredibly helpful. Slow, rhythmic breathing can help to both distract from and cope with contractions.
    • Position Changes: Moving around and changing positions can help reduce pain. Squatting, kneeling, or walking can assist in progressing labor and alleviating discomfort.
    • Warm Water: Immersing in a warm bath or taking a warm shower can be soothing. Some birth centers and hospitals offer birthing pools for this purpose.
    • Acupressure and Reflexology: These are traditional methods where pressure is applied to specific points on the body to alleviate pain.
    • Hypnobirthing: This is a birthing method that uses self-hypnosis and relaxation techniques to help a woman feel physically, mentally, and spiritually prepared and reduce her awareness of fear, anxiety, and pain during childbirth.
    • Doula Support: A doula is a trained professional who provides emotional, physical, and educational support before, during, and after childbirth. They can offer comfort measures and support throughout labor.
For more information, please check out this recent article in Parents magazine.
Lilac Health – Birth & Wellness Centers are conveniently situated just a few miles away from the nearest hospital equipped with emergency services and a NICU. Our center’s staff regularly engage in emergency drills. We also incorporate local EMS responders into our emergency protocols. Additionally, we maintain direct communication lines with the hospital. This ensures a seamless transfer of records and gives the hospital advanced notice of our arrival, streamlining the transfer process as much as possible. For non-emergency transfers and epidurals, we have established relationships with hospital-based midwifery teams. These teams are readily available to accept our clients. They aim to honor and integrate as many elements of your initial birth plan as the hospital’s policies and the situation’s safety will permit.
Lilac Health emphasizes the importance of care built on relationships. While we understand that our clients have expectations of us as their care providers, we also have expectations for them in return. We hope our clients will actively engage in their own care and maintain the best health to achieve their desired birthing experience. While we hold a client’s right to informed decision-making in high regard, we do set certain care criteria to ensure that a client is low-risk and suitable for our birth center services.
    • Clients should actively engage in their prenatal care, attending regular appointments and maintaining overall good health.
    • It’s essential for the baby to display normal growth patterns as observed through measurements and ultrasounds.
    • We cannot accommodate transfers beyond the 32nd week of pregnancy.
    • A history of multiple Cesarean deliveries may limit eligibility.
    • Conditions such as gestational diabetes requiring medication, hypertension, or preeclampsia need special consideration.
    • Maintaining a pre-pregnancy BMI under 40 is preferable.
    • Continuous substance use during pregnancy, including THC, nicotine, drugs, or alcohol, is a significant concern.