What is a Birth Center?
Many hospitals have recently begun referring to their labor and delivery units as a "birthing center" or "family birth center." However, birth centers and hospitals are quite distinct! National Place of Service codes defined by the US Department of Health and Human Services defines a birthing center as: "A facility, other than a hospital's maternity facilities or a physician's office, which provides a setting for labor, delivery, and immediate postpartum care as well as immediate care of newborn infants."
How is the Birth Center different from a hospital?
A birth center is a homelike, private place where labor and birth are treated as normal, healthy life events - not an illness or hazardous condition. At Madison Birth Center, we entrust our clients to make informed healthcare decisions. Our role is to educate, answer questions and assist in the decision-making process. We empower our clients throughout every phase of their care. We do this by taking the time to get to know you and your preferences, so that we can adapt our support and education to your needs.
Our midwives and birth assistants are all highly skilled at physical and emotional support during labor and birth. We are experts in natural childbirth, and we stay with our clients throughout labor. This ensures a calm peacefull transition during birth, without the flurry of a grand entrance by a physician at the very end to "catch" the baby. At Madison Birth Center, the mother and baby are the center of attention, not the providers!
Madison Birth Center is equipped with whirlpool baths and mothers are encouraged to walk, eat, drink and get into positions that are comfortable for them during labor and birth. At birth, the baby is immediately placed into the arms of the mother.
Each mother receives careful guidance in the first few hours after birth so that when she is discharged a few hours later, she feels confident in her ability to breastfeed and care for her baby. Our Early Homecare classes ensure that families are well educated about the early postpartum period and know how to assess the well being of mother and baby after birth center discharge. The nurse-midwife closely follows the family at home and office visits for the first few weeks of the new baby's life.
For a printable summary of the major benefits of obtaining maternity care at Madison Birth Center, click here.
Why Certified Nurse-Midwives?
Certified Nurse-Midwives are experts in the care of uncomplicated pregnancy and birth. We are highly-skilled at caring for women in the birth center environment, where healthy women experiencing normal pregnancies can safely deliver with far less technology and intervention than is needed in the hospital for women with high risk factors.
Our Certified Nurse-Midwives provide continuous support during labor and birth. Studies have shown that continuous labor support decreases the need for epidural anesthesia, medical interventions and cesarean sections.
Certified Nurse-Midwives typically spend three times longer with their clients than do physicians. This allows ample time for developing the relationship most women desire with their health care-provider. The partnership that unfolds with our midwives will help you to stay healthy throughout pregnancy.
What if I can't cope with the pain?
Madison Birth Center teaches our clients the skills for coping with labor, and you will have the support and continuous presence of an experienced nurse-midwife throughout labor and birth. Numerous studies have shown the deep benefits of skilled support in labor, including a decreased need for epidural anesthesia. Each birth room at Madison Birth Center has a whirlpool tub with air jets and a hand-held sprayer to help with pain relief. MBC has narcotic analgesia available on site, but uses it sparingly due to its adverse effects on breastfeeding and the newborn's drive to breathe at birth. However, if the need arises, pain medication is not withheld. Transfer to the hospital for epidural anesthesia is always an option when needed.
What if a transfer to the hospital is necessary?
Every birth center client is required to pre-register at their hospital of choice. This ensures a smooth transition from birth center to hospital in the event of a transfer. National statistics have been maintained on birth center outcomes for over 20 years, and it has been demonstrated that virtually all clients who transfer to the hospital do so on a non-emergency basis (typically to avail themselves of labor stimulating hormones or epidural analgesia). However, if an emergency transfer to the hospital during labor is necessary, this trip takes only 13 minutes by ambulance, putting us well within a 30 minute "decision to incision" standard for cesarean section that most hospitals strive to achieve. This emergency responsiveness is better than that provided by many rural hospitals.
What is your ratio of staff to patients? How are staffing needs met when several women deliver at the same time?
3 clinical staff members are present at every birth at Madison Birth Center, including one or more CNMs. Additional staff are called in for high census, and 3-4 staff members are on call at all times.
How do you handle the after hour care needs of your clients?
Madison Birth Center utilizes a 24 hour answering service, and a CNM is on call at all times.
What is the average length of stay for women that deliver at the Birth Center?
9 - 12 hours.
What about the care of the newborn? Do you provide these services as well?
Yes, certified nurse-midwifes are licensed to provide newborn care. We work closely with area pediatricians and family physicians to provide continuity of care. Madison Birth Center offers all standard testing and treatments commonly offered to newborns.
Do you have a lactation consultant on staff?
Yes. We are a "Baby Friendly" facility. Our staff currently includes an International Board-Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) and five Certified Lactation Counselors (CLC).
What type of preventative and medical services do you routinely provide? Do you provide primary healthcare services to your clients or only services related to maternity care?
Madison Birth Center provides the full range of primary care to women, including preventative care. We provide diet and exercise education, as well as routine screenings such as pap smears, cholesterol, glucose and thyroid testing.
