Various Questions to ask a Birth Center

[LillyLee]

Hi Ladies,

I am interested in a natural birth, although possibly not at home. DH is very paranoid with bothering the neighbors in our apt etc, and wants quick medical care if necessary. I just finished watching the Business of Being Born, and even though I wanted a natural birth to start with this movie has just reaffirmed this fact.

The hospital nearest us has a "natural" birth center and the group practice I see has a few midwives that I've spoken to. I guess what am I supposed to be asking them along the lines of, "how many women go into this and are then assisted when they didn't want to be?" It sounds slightly rude. Can you ask them the percentage of c-sections they do, things like that? (And expect them to be honest).

Is a natural birth in a birth center comparable at all to a natural birth at home in terms of the type of care you get from midwives and doulas or is it just as rushed and forced as a regular hospital birth. I'm just so scared to get bullied into something I don't want. I have a friend who went in for her 38 week check up and she had an upper respiratory infection. They told her that everytime she coughed her babies heart rate went down and put her into a c-section right there. That is what I DON'T want!

 

[oread]

I have heard nothing but good things about birth centers. I was born at one, and my mom vastly preferred it to the hospital births she had with my older siblings. It probably depends on the place, but that one even felt "homey" and they basically just let my mom do what she wanted. Birth centers dont have the abilit to give epidurals and such, so they encourage you to walk around and labor in differnt positions. I think they usually have much lower c-section rates than hospitals as well. I dont think it is quite as comfortable as at your own home, but its a good compromise between home and hospital.