At The Birthing Inn, childbirth is treated as a normal, healthy event. The presence of family, absence of intrusions, and one-to-one care from midwife and doula help create an atmosphere where natural childbirth is the norm, rather than an exception. Birthing Inn families are those who have no medical problems affecting their pregnancies. Your physician or midwife will help you decide if an out of hospital birth is the right choice for you.
The Birthing Inn provides a cozy bed and breakfast atmosphere for labor and birth. A mother can move through labor using a large soaking tub, spacious walk-in shower, birth ball, or take advantage of the peaceful outdoor walking path accessible through her private birth suite. Pain medication is available, but seldom needed.
Support from midwives, family, and friends allows a mother to believe in her body’s ability to give birth in its’ own way and time. Freedom to find positions that feel right to the laboring woman enhances her ability to give birth effectively. Appropriate monitoring, balanced with a deep respect for privacy, helps avoid many complications.
If there’s a need for transfer to the hospital, your midwife continues to care for you there, in consultation with an obstetrician, if necessary. To date, The Birthing Inn’s rate of transfer has ranged from 12% to 18%--proportions exactly in line with the national average for out of hospital birth. Usually, transfers to the hospital are made because labor hasn’t progressed as expected.
Families considering out of hospital birth will meet with their midwife and with a Birthing Inn representative to discuss their birth plan and issues like insurance coverage. Families may choose to be discharged as few as four hours after birth—as long as the midwife considers mother and baby stable—or stay and rest for up to 24 hours. Prior to discharge, a thorough newborn exam is done at the bedside by your midwife. Postpartum care is done by telephone, in your home, or in the Pearl Place offices, depending on where you live.
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