What Exactly Is a Birth Center? | Chicago Muslim Childbirth Educator and Birth Doula
What happens if a hospital birth and a homebirth got married and had a baby? They’d have a birth center! Sounds silly, but this is the best way I can explain it. Birth centers are the happy medium between the two spectrums of birth options.. and I’m ALL HERE FOR IT! If you’ve been following me for a while, you’d know I recently moved to Chicago from Dubai, a city that has a 100% hospital birth rate. Home births are illegal, and birth centers do not exist (yet!) and so, when I moved to Chicago, and began experiencing the magic of homebirth and birth center births… I fell in LOVE with birth all over again.
Not many people are even aware of birth centers being an option, so I thought it would be a good idea to outline a short and sweet article about what a birth center is, and perhaps address some common misconceptions.
So…What is a Birth Center?
It’s a facility that looks and feels like a home would, designed for natural, low-intervention births. The birth rooms literally look like beautifully decorated bed rooms, many have tubs inside them and all the other gear a mom would need to facilitate a low intervention type of birth. Birth centers support the belief that childbirth is a normal and natural process, emphasizing family-centered care with minimal routine interventions like continuous monitoring or IVs.
Types of Birth Centers
Freestanding Birth Centers: Independent facilities not located within a hospital, staffed by midwives and designed to provide a homey atmosphere. Freestanding birth centers are known for lower intervention rates and adherence to a more natural birth philosophy. Some examples in Chicagoland include (but are not limited to:) The Burr Ridge Birth Center, The Birth Center of Chicago and the Chicago South Side Birth Center.
Hospital-Affiliated Birth Centers: These are located within or near hospitals and may follow hospital protocols. Intervention rates tend to be higher, and the care model may feel less personalized compared to freestanding centers. Here are some hospitals that have birth centers within them: Rush Copley, UChicago Medicine, Advocate Good Sherman, among others.
Why Choose a Birth Center?
Personalized Care:
You’ll likely work with the same small team of midwives throughout pregnancy and delivery, where you would have the opportunity for personalized care, empowering you to make informed decisions. Birth centers prioritize a calming experience, free from the high-tech hospital atmosphere. Many centers offer home visits postpartum and allow you to stay for as long or as short a time as you wish after giving birth.
“Safer” for low risk births:
That’s a strong statement to make, I know, but a study found that for low-risk pregnancies, birth centers are safer than hospitals, with a significantly lower C-section rate (6% vs. 32.7% for hospitals). Midwives are trained to detect complications early, ensuring timely transfers to hospitals when necessary.
Affordability:
On average, birth center care costs less than half the price of a hospital birth. For those with insurance, midwifery care is often covered, making it a cost-effective choice.
What Happens if Something Goes Wrong?
Birth centers are equipped with medical supplies like oxygen and infant resuscitation equipment. Midwives are trained to recognize complications early and facilitate smooth transfers to hospitals. In the same study mentioned above, only 1.9% of transfers from birth centers were emergencies, demonstrating their preparedness.
How to Choose the Right Birth Center?
Research Options: Search online for local birth centers, read reviews, and ask for recommendations from friends or community groups.
Ask Questions: When visiting a birth center, consider asking:
What’s the C-section and transfer rate?
Are midwives independent, or do they rely on hospital staff?
What kind of postpartum support do you offer?
I hope this was helpful! If you’re pregnant and looking for birth support, I would love to help you make a firm decision on the best route to go. Reach out and let’s get chatting! Sending you baby dust.
About Salam Birth Services
Hey there, I'm Lana, the human behind Salam Birth Services! I'm a Chicago-based birth photographer, doula and childbirth educator covering mainly the Western, Northwestern and Southwestern suburbs, but feel free to reach out if you live outside those borders to enquire about my availability.
You can find me on Instagram , or you can get in touch here by sending a message!