Orlando Kids' Directory

Featured Articles :: Home Birth vs. Birth Center

by Robyn Mattox, LM, CPM, EMT (Inspiration Midwifery)

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN A BIRTH CENTER AND A HOME BIRTH?

I receive a lot of questions from moms asking about what makes home birth and birth center births different. The perception is that birth center birth would be better than a home birth, or safer than a home birth. The truth is they are EXACTLY THE SAME. Home birth and a Birth Center birth are no different. As for which is better, this is a matter of personal choice. With a Birth Center birth, you are simply having a Home birth, in someone else’s home. The equipment the midwives have and use is no different at Home than a Birth Center. Your Homebirth midwife is bringing the same equipment, including Oxygen, IV and other emergency equipment to your home that would be at the Birth center. A birth center does not offer any additional services that would not be available to you at home. There are advantages for each, and it is a uniquely personal choice.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE BENEFITS OF A HOME BIRTH:
*No need to travel anywhere in labor.
*You are in your own environment, so germs are less likely to cause harm.
*You are in your own environment, so you will be more comfortable.
*You are in control of who is in your own home. You can have as many or as few people as you like.
*There is no need to go anywhere after the baby is born. Many birth centers require that you go home only a few hours after the baby is born.
*There will only be one of you in labor at a time! You will not have to worry about sharing the facility.
*There are some insurances that will cover more for homebirth or give you more options on providers.

BENEFITS OF A BIRTH CENTER
*Can be more spacious, depending on your circumstances.
*No need to set up for a water birth, and worry about filling or draining the tub.
*There are some insurances that will cover a Birth center that will not cover a home birth.

WHAT ABOUT THE MESS? ISN'T IT EASIER TO LEAVE IT AT THE BIRTH CENTER?
Home Birth is actually a very clean affair. There is very little blood or fluids that accompany birth when birth is left as a natural as possible. Midwives are very good at containing and cleaning any mess that is left after the birth. The midwives will help you prepare your birth space ahead of time, so that it is protected from any accidental spill or staining. At Inspiration Midwifery it is our policy to leave the home as clean as we found it, with your laundry from the birth clean and folded and your place of birth cleaned and ready for you to settle in with your new baby.

BUT I WANT A WATER BIRTH AND ONLY HAVE A SHOWER. WOULDN'T A BIRTH CENTER BE BETTER?
Sure, sometimes, a Birth Center offers this advantage. However, a water birth tub is available to set up in your home. It is an easy setup/break down process and we will help you with this. Most homes are adequate to have a home birth and even a water birth if you want one.

I LIVE IN AN APARTMENT. SHOULD I CONSIDER A BIRTH CENTER INSTEAD?
No, there is no need to consider a birth center based only in the fact you live in an apartment. Many beautiful births take place in an apartment complex. Birth is not as loud as you think. In my experience, most moms only have an occasional need to be more vocal than just soft moaning. Often the neighbors have no idea what went on!

WHAT ABOUT BEING CLOSE TO A HOSPITAL? THE BIRTH CENTER IS JUST DOWN THE STREET FROM THE HOSPITAL, MY HOME IS NOT.
This is an excellent question. In order to have a home birth you will need to make an Emergency Care Plan with your midwife. If your home is not within 30 minutes of a hospital with an Obstetrical Unit, then yes, you may be better off considering a Birth Center. In Orange, Lake, Seminole, Sumter, Pasco, and Hernando counties most moms are well within 30 minutes, if not less than 10 minutes in many cases. Your midwife has the equipment needed to help stabilize an emergency; to give you time to get to an Emergency Facility. These same things would occur at a Birth Center. In either case you are transported via ambulance from your home or a birth center to the hospital. The total transfer process is usually quick and easily accomplished.

Home birth is a safe alternative to a hospital birth for low risk moms and babies. Birth Center and Home Birth are both outside of the hospital environment and are required to maintain very similar protocols. The decision to have a home birth or use a birth center is a personal one.