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Natural Prenatal Care?

DSMLoveDSMLove member
in Natural Birth
Hello everyone! My husband and I are hoping to get pregnant with our first this year, so I'm starting to research the care options in my area. There is a midwife owned, freestanding birth center in my city. Part of their birth package is prenatal care throughout the pregnancy.

I'm totally onboard with birthing at a birth center, but I'm actually nervous about the prenatal care there. Does a birth center actually do bloodwork? Ultrasounds? Chromosomal testing?

I would be really nervous without those types of prenatal tests. Maybe birth centers do more than I'm giving them credit for. I just think of those procedures as more "hospitaly."

Has anyone else gotten their prenatal care at a birth center? What was it like?
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Re: Natural Prenatal Care?

  • KrisM86KrisM86 member
    Accredited birth centers provide complete prenatal care. At my birth center, they do all bloodwork, urine testing, GBS testing, etc. They also offer an anatomy scan and other tests like MaterniT21 and others. The only difference is that they refer you to another site such as Avanced Radiology, etc. for ultrasounds. They still get and analyze all results.

    There is no reason to think you will be getting inadequate prenatal care at an accredited birth center staffed with CNMs and or CPMs. If you are curious about exactly what they offer, all and have your questions answered.
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  • DSMLoveDSMLove member
    This is great to know! I'll definitely have to check it out. Sorry for assuming that birth centers don't offer these services. There is just so much misinformation out there.
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  • KrisM86KrisM86 member
    imageDSMLove:
    This is great to know! I'll definitely have to check it out. Sorry for assuming that birth centers don't offer these services. There is just so much misinformation out there.


    I completely understand! I really hope that someday soon this information is readily available to all pregnant women!!
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  • nyki06nyki06 member
    I'm not sure about a birth center but my home birth midwife gave us the option of doing all of those things. If we did choose to do them she would set up an appointment at a local clinic/ultrasound place and we would go there. 
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  • AllieJeanAllieJean
    My midwife only does simple blood testing for iron levels and sugar. She sends me to her backup OB for any other blood work or if I want/need ultrasounds, NST, or anything else that may come up.
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  • msditz00msditz00 member

    My free standing birthing center offered all of the same tests my friends had at normal OB offices.  They even set me up with progesterone shots for my second pregnancy since my first son was a preemie, same as any OB would.

    They also referred me to a MFM for my second pregnancy, so I saw the midwives and the MFM for a bit (again due to my first being a preemie - the midwives are all for natural stuff, but they understand the need for extra care/testing when appropriate).

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  • kxp004kxp004 member

    imageKrisM86:
    Accredited birth centers provide complete prenatal care. At my birth center, they do all bloodwork, urine testing, GBS testing, etc. They also offer an anatomy scan and other tests like MaterniT21 and others. The only difference is that they refer you to another site such as Avanced Radiology, etc. for ultrasounds. They still get and analyze all results. There is no reason to think you will be getting inadequate prenatal care at an accredited birth center staffed with CNMs and or CPMs. If you are curious about exactly what they offer, all and have your questions answered.

    all this except our BC has an ultrasound machine too... 

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  • pepomntpatpepomntpat member
    I didn't switch until late in pregnancy, but I didn't have to go anywhere to get anything done except the BPP when I went post dates. They did all the blood work, GBS, GD tests, etc. They were even set up for an NST, just no u/s machine. 
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  • cecilyandgautamcecilyandgautam member
    Is it staffed by CNMs or CPMs? My CNMs center did blood work (they are nurses so bloodwork is definitely within their capability) but not ultrasounds so they sent me out for that. We skipped the chromosomal testing, so can't tell you about that. 
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  • RockyMtnMamaRockyMtnMama member

    At our free-standing birth center (Denver Metro area), I could do all the blood work there, but they referred you back to an OB office for ultrasounds.  It was only across the street from the OB office, so it was easy to get to both appts if you wanted. 

    We skipped all the genetic testing the first 2 times anyway since I was low risk.

     

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  • pixieprincsspixieprincss member

    We did blood work and anatomy scan with another provider. Our CPM did the rest--namely protein/urine checks at every visit.

    We did an OB with DS1 and a CPM w/ DS2 and the care with the CPM, while less medicalized, was immensely more comprehensive because they focus so, so much on nutrition, emotion, and preventative care on a personal level vs. looking at me as lab numbers and stats.

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