what is a birthing center?

giving birth at a birth center
Interested in delivering your baby in a place that | s almost like home and has a knowledgeable and supportive staff? A birth center might be for you.
In This Article

What is a birth center?
What's the difference between a birth center and a hospital?
What are the benefits of giving birth at a birth center?
What are the downsides of giving birth at a birth center?
Who can give birth at a birth center?
Who can be with you during labor and delivery at a birth center?
How much does it cost to give birth at a birth center?

If you | re weighing your delivery options and don | t want the clinical atmosphere of a hospital but also aren | t interested in delivering at home, you may want to consider an accredited birth center.

With professional staff, minimal medical interruptions and cozy accommodations, a birth center is the best of both worlds for many women. To help you decide whether it | s right for you, here | s everything you need to know about giving birth at a birth center.
Health Benefits of Pregnancy and Motherhood
What is a birth center?

A birth center is a homey, low-tech birthing option for moms-to-be who desire a natural childbirth experience. Usually, birth centers are freestanding facilities, but sometimes they | re adjacent to or inside a hospital.

In most birthing centers, midwives (and not OB-GYNs) are the primary care providers. Besides offering a comfy place to deliver your baby, birth centers provide many services, including well-woman exams, preconception counseling, prenatal care, childbirth education, breastfeeding classes, postpartum care and support and post-baby birth control.
What's the difference between a birth center and a hospital?

At birth centers, care is typically led by midwives, though birth centers may work in collaboration with OB-GYNs, pediatricians and other healthcare professionals — meaning they consult them if the need arises.

But delivering at a birth center and giving birth at a hospital differ in a number of ways. While a labor room in a hospital looks like, well, a room in a hospital, birthing rooms at a birthing center tend to be much swankier. And procedures that are standard or at least common in a hospital setting (such as continuous fetal monitoring, routine IVs and induction of labor) aren | t routine at a birthing center.

Keep in mind, too, that most birthing centers don | t give epidurals. Instead, they turn to alternative pain relief options, such as hydrotherapy, breathing exercises, massage and acupuncture. Some centers also offer nitrous oxide gas.