Birth Center Important Questions?

multifariousmermaid · January 2018

Hi, I hope this post is OK. I couldn't find a thread that I felt this fit under so please let me know if there's a better place to post this.

I'm visiting a couple birth centers today and tomorrow and found this list online of questions to ask. https://www.nationalpartnership.org/research-library/maternal-health/what-to-ask-birth-center.pdf Does anyone have any other questions to add? Remove? Things to look out for? Something you wished you asked your first time? I'm a first time mom and feel pretty lost!

Thank you!

mrsbubbles-2 · January 2018

Hi @multifariousmermaid! I don't have anything to add - I had DS in the hospital and will for this one too. Just wanted to say good luck on your visits and update us if you learn anything that should be added to the list! It looks pretty thorough to me

ladygali · January 2018

Hi @multifariousmermaid! That looks very thorough. The only thing I’d add is a question about delayed cord cutting and circumcision/leaving intact if it’s a boy. Good luck with the visit!

hjmorgan-2 · January 2018

My phone wont open the link for some reason, but once I get to my computer I'll look it over and give you my thoughts. I had DS at a birthing center and loved it.

matryoshkadoll · January 2018

That is a lot of questions to ask on a tour, IMO. I would try to research their websites as much as possible and write in what you can find out. I would also highlight some priorities that are actually going to affect your decision. A lot of these questions would be better covered in a first appointment.

I would make make a note of how far the birth center is from your house and how far their preferred hospital is from the birth center. Ask what transfer time is and also map it on google maps. I would also maybe call the hospital they have a relationship with and check on how well they work together.

pourmeanothermocktail · January 2018

Having toured three stand alone birth centers, luckily, they'll answer most of these on their tour.

I would question whether all rooms are the same, and where precisely you can deliver, tub, bed, stools, floor, outside (totally an option at 2 out of the 3 I checked out!), how long you stay after birth, how the baby's first check up in the 24 hours after you leave is handled (some do home visits!), and what emergency supplies they have on hand (oxygen, pitocin for bleeding, rescue drugs) and how long it'll take to get to the hospital just in case.

westphilly · January 2018

I would add some questions to the postpartum care. You can probably find these out on the website, but things to consider:
Do they have a certified lactation consultant on staff every day?
Can your partner stay overnight with you in the room?
Are the rooms shared or private or a mix?
What is the limit on visitors, number and time of day?

hjmorgan-2 · January 2018

Most of these questions will be covered during your tour, but there are some good ones. Pretty sure they will go over how long you can stay after birth, the family allowed, your significant other, etc. I would focus on labor complications, do they do 'house' checks(my birthing center would visit me at my home during possible labor if I was uneasy about something, even though we planned on having the labor at the center.), how do the midwives handle family. (My midwife was awesome, because I have pushy family, she told me "If you're worried about telling them to leave, I'll be the bad guy and keep them out."). etc.

And if there are any specific concerns you have. I was terrified of having a breached birth, or how do they handle an umbilical cord around the babies neck(this happened to my little brother), etc. The answers to these really put me at ease when I heard how easily they could handle them, but also that they knew their limits and what they'd do in emergencies.

I wish you all the luck! I LOVED my birthing center, even though my labor went so crazy(I was in labor for 58 hrs, including pre-labor contractions), I am positive the doctors probably would have talked me into drugs, inducing, etc. My midwives stuck by me through the whole thing and were very encouraging, even when I was screaming that I couldn't take it anymore. I felt very empowered by them. They knew how much I wanted a natural birth, and as long as my baby was ok, they supported that 100%.

multifariousmermaid · January 2018

Thank you everyone for the great suggestions!

pourmeanothermocktail · January 2018

@westphilly Just trying to spread knowledge, but stand alone birth centers (and maybe I misunderstood and she's looking into an in hospital one, but that list talked about hospital transfers, meaning that if there were certain complications you you'd need to be moved to a hospital, leading me to think that it is a stand alone center) typically release you few hours (4-12) after birth, and so there's not much to the postpartum care aspect, ie there's not an overnight visit, or in house lactation support, or visiting hours. Just trying to share info.

westphilly · January 2018

@pourmeamocktail Ooooh, thanks for the info. I had no idea. Well that makes more sense. I thought it was light on the postpartum care.

pourmeanothermocktail · January 2018

@westphilly no problem! I am super into non-hospital birthing, so I hope I didn't come across as overbearing!

I wish my state had more than one stand alone birth center, and that vbacs were allowed at them.

hjmorgan-2 · January 2018

I looooved that we could leave so soon after birth. My DS was born at almost midnight, so we slept there (DH was allowed to sleep in the bed with me). We even slept in a little, then once we were comfortable we left. They didn't bother us, they only came in to check on me and the baby once we actually walked out of the room to start getting our things together. And my midwife slept in the room nextdoor and told me if we were concerned about anything MOTN then we could go get her. My MIL was allowed to visit at 1AM after he was born, she even helped(along side the midwives) give me tips on breastfeeding.

westphilly · January 2018

pourmeamocktail said:

@westphilly no problem! I am super into non-hospital birthing, so I hope I didn't come across as overbearing!

I wish my state had more than one stand alone birth center, and that vbacs were allowed at them.

I didn't find it overbearing at all. Just the opposite; I found it informative and helpful. And maybe some other people will make that mistake too.
It sounds wonderful. I go to a midwife practice, but I didn't know there were places separate from hospitals where they might practice the same way. I also had a c-section(hopeful VBAC club too!), so I had a long stay with my first. I loved it at the time because we got a lot of tips and help from the nurses on breastfeeding, baby care, and self care. But, this time, i'd love to be out of there ASAP to get our family home!

OP: Sorry for accidentally hijacking this thread a little!

Danelle+Miguel · January 2018

I like to see how the midwife stays up to date on practices. I liked to know where they got their training, And I like to know if they are a cnm, cpm or cm.

I also like to know how there protocols after 40 weeks.

kburg15 · January 2018

Not much to add except all of the advice here is really good. I had DS (18 months old) in a stand-alone birth center and it was fantastic. It was the closest feeling to being at home that I could imagine and the staff treated us like family. We left about 6 hours after the birth and it was amazing to go home and sleep in my own bed. Then the nurses visited me at home over the next couple of days. I would do it again with this baby, except that I’m high risk due to blood thinners. One thing I will say is that if you decide to birth at a BC, they usually have required classes on their rules/guidelines, safety, breastfeeding, tips on natural birth, etc which are very helpful.

lizziealyssa · January 2018

I had all 3 of my littles at a stand-alone birth center and Loved it. (2 of them were induced too yuck.) Thete was a hospital a couple blocks away which was a huge relief to my MD-filled family. I had a home visit after my first, but just phone calls with number 2 and 3. It was lovely to go home so quickly. Lots of good questions already posted. Definitely see if they at least recommend someone for childbirth classes. We only had 1 mandatory meeting when we were in our third trimester about protocol and to ask any questions. I hope it works out for you whatever you choose. I'm overseas now and very, very sad to have to be away from birth centers here since I had such great experiences.

multifariousmermaid · January 2018

Some more great things to think about thanks guys. Yes, I am planning on using a stand alone birth center not inside a hospital. I have looked at two this week that are minutes from the hospital and I'm looking at another today that is owned by a hospital and sort of on its property but not technically part of it. It's not state credentialed as a birth center either which I'm totally confused about and am hoping to get answers on today. I've heard nothing but good things about it and I'm hoping to make my decision this week.

jsnakehole · January 2018

@mrsbubbles-2 are a lot of these questions similar to the ones you would ask at a hospital? I'm going set up a hospital tour for us for the beginning of March, and I don't know what to ask. The only thing I know is that at the hospital I'm using, DH can be there overnight during the delivery but I can only have a woman stay overnight with me during recovery because it's a religious Jewish hospital, so my mom is going to stay.

mrsbubbles-2 · January 2018

@jsnakehole I think that most of these questions could easily be adapted to a hospital! We were kind of assigned our hospital from our OB practice but it is one of the best in our area so I didn't have any issue.

I asked a lot about the NICU because there was a chance that DS would need some NICU time due to low blood sugars (he did need about 3 days) and I asked about visitors in my recovery room / DS's NICU room.

All the questions in the Services section are excellent - I wanted to know about lactation consultants and delaying baby's first bath for mom and dad bonding time.

Where you can labor / birth is good - my room had a big tub and a shower along with the labor stool and peanut ball. Some hospitals want you to birth in the bed so if you're planning on a water birth, make sure to ask.

Use of Pitocin and / or epidural, it's good to find out what the policy is, some hospitals won't let you get an epidural until you hit #cm dilation and some will insist on Pitocin if your labor is slow. It really depends on your OB practice and the hospital.

One more thing - I would ask what kinds of classes are available at the hospital. Ours offered free breastfeeding, birthing, infant CPR and post-partum care classes once you registered.

This is just my experience, I'm sure there are lots of STM+ that can add to this conversation! I don't have any experience with religious Jewish hospitals but it sounds like you have a great plan to have someone stay with you to help you out!

princesslockness · January 2018

jsnakehole said:

The only thing I know is that at the hospital I'm using, DH can be there overnight during the delivery but I can only have a woman stay overnight with me during recovery because it's a religious Jewish hospital, so my mom is going to stay.

That would not be okay in my book. H has to help me get into&out of bed, grab the shampoo off the floor, run down to the vending machines at 2 am if the kitchen is closed . . . I would not feel ok asking/demanding someone other than him to do that. Just my personal $.02. If you are up for it, more power to you!

jsnakehole · January 2018

@princesslockness it's not my favorite policy but it works out in a way because a) my mom has no problem staying and will be happy to help out however I need and b) we aren't setting up the nursery until the baby is born because of superstition, so it will give MH a chance to go home and put the furniture together and set everything up before I come home with the baby.

princesslockness · January 2018

@jsnakehole Good plan.

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