Birth Center vs. hospital

AimmeeJo

I know its REALLY early but its something I'm already debating....any one have strong feelings on this?  I've heard good things about Puget Sound Midwives & Birth Center but I'm located in Seattle and not sure I want to commute to the east side.  Anyone have any experiences with Seattle Naturopathy, Acupuncture & Birth Center?

blueLu25

I had both my kids at Puget Sound BC. We drove from Redmond with my first and Everett with my second. Trust me, it is so so worth it. I had two amazing birth experiences and the prenatal care is amazing too. They feel like part of our family now. Love love love them! Let me know if you have any questions! 

greenmtbride

I second BluLu...(although the other birth center could be great too...don't know them).  PSBC is amazing.   We live in Snohomish County and drove there.  If this is your first child you will have plenty of time to get there during labor...it is a hassle for all the prenatal appointments, but so worth it for the quality and support they provide. 

I would set up an intro appointment with them...they will give you a bunch of info that will help you decide if you want an out-of-hospital birth. 

greenmtbride

Also, I'm on Penny Simkin's email list and just got notice that there's a new birth center, Center For Birth, on Eastlake Ave.  https://centerforbirth.com/

 

 EDIT: Their website has no info...looks like their Facebook page is more established and has pictures of the birth rooms.

AimmeeJo

Great, thanks!  I'll definitely check them out!

Kathzoo

DD was born at Puget Sound Birth Center with a midwife who lives in Fremont.  My appointments were at my home or at her office.  We live in Shoreline.  I would start by interviewing midwives in your part of town.  Many of them will use any birth center you prefer.  Then you can tour the birth centers and decide later.  We toured one in S. Seattle, but preferred Puget Sound.  A good friend used the midwives and birth center in Bellevue, so you may want to check that out ufif it's more convenient for you.  I had a fast labor (6 hours) and got there with plenty of time.  Not much traffic at 2 am.  And if you are planning an out of hospital birth, you should take Penny Simkin's childbirth class.  It's awesome.

LifesPeachy

I only have experience with the Puget Sound Birth Center but I have to throw in my props- I absolutely *loved* it. I miss going there and I agree they start to feel like family. Your visits are like chats with friends, they care about you. It's very hard to find an OB who gives you more than 2 minutes of their time. I also worried about the commute and dragged my feet switching my care to there. We moved here when I was 20 weeks and were near downtown. I had the Ballard Swedish midwives and thought that was a good medium (midwives but in a hospital). At around 30 weeks, I felt like they would still have to follow the policies and procedures of the hospital (IV lock, , no food, etc). So I switched to PSBC. I was so sad I didn't do it sooner- I missed out on getting to know them all that much more.
Go there for a free tour and midwife consult and do the same with the other one near you. I can't wait for my next pregnancy to go back

adylina

We're using the PSBC, but are doing our antenatal care here in Seattle (where we live too). I briefly looked at Seattle Naturopathy, Acupuncture & Birth Center, but I just didn't feel drawn to it the same way.

 I was really anxious at first about the commute to the Eastside while in labour, but I balanced that against the fact that I'm probably not going to have the baby in that crucial 20-40 minutes.  I'm not sure what part of Seattle you live in (or if you work out of the city), but I feel like it's worth it to commute a (reasonable) distance to give birth somewhere you love.