How is the Birth Center different from a hospital?
The Birth Center is a homelike, private place where labor and birth are treated as normal life events. Laboring women are carefully and continually assessed by the nurse-midwife and an experienced midwife assistant to assure that mother and baby are doing well.
The 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 hands 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 will feel confident in her ability to breastfeed and care for her baby. The nurse-midwife closely follows the family via phone as well as home and office visits for the first few weeks of the new baby's life.
What if there is a medical emergency?
Emergency medical equipment is maintained in the Center and the staff is trained in its use. In such an emergency, the woman/infant would be stabilized for transfer to the Emergency Room of Memorial Hermann–The Woodlands Hospital, located a short distance to the north of the Center. EMTs are just minutes away from the Center and on call 24 hours a day.
Who cannot use the Birth Center?
Various conditions can prevent a woman from being eligible for delivery in the Center. (You should inquire. Depending on condition, you may be able to get prenatal care at the center and deliver with a nurse midwife in the hospital.) These conditions include:
- Women expecting twins
- Women who have had a previous cesarean section
- Women who are breech at term
- Women with diabetes not controlled with diet
- Women with chronic high blood pressure
- Women with other serious medical problems
