Choosing Between a Hospital and Birth Centre – Things to Consider

United States is known to spend more on healthcare sector than any other developed country in the world. However, the maternal and neonatal services are growing worse day by day with rates of premature births and C-sections steadily rising. Adding to the pain, the price for such services is growing too, making people more cautious and sceptical.

Birth Cottage has been providing family-centred pregnancy care, Home Birth Care NH, postpartum, and well-body since the year 2002. Birth Cottage strongly advocates for birthing with a midwife and doula in a birth centre. Birth Cottage also provides services like Breastfeeding Support, Maternity care, and Prenatal Pregnancy in NH (New Hampshire).

It is highly recommended that you decide where to deliver your baby as early as possible to find a provider you can trust. While deciding, consider the following differences between hospital births and birth centres, so that you can choose the best place for your child to be born.

Environment

Birth Centres are designed and organized to provide a complete home-like experience. Usually rooms at birth centres feature large beds, which are perfect two partners, along with a large freestanding tub for effective pain relief. Moreover, all rooms are equipped with birthing tools to simplify the labour process and comfortable birthing position.

On the other hand, giving birth at a hospital is always more clinical. Hospital rooms typically consist of a small bed that only moves in a few labouring positions. Most commonly, pregnant women lay on their back with legs extended into stirrups. Moreover, most hospitals have a limit to the number of guests allowed in the room.

Eating and Drinking

Birth centres have minimal use of medication, thanks to which women in labour are typically free to eat and drink as you please. However, freely eating or drinking while labouring in a hospital is not really allowed. Instead, hospitals provide fluids through an IV line. In case of long labours, hospitals may allow consumption of clear liquids such as broth or popsicles.

Birthing Plan

Birth centres always keep the baby’s and mother’s safety in mind and usually do everything they can to ease the pain during giving birth. Most birth centres are equipped with birthing tools, balls, yoga slings, tubs, and so on, and they will consider all possible options prior to the labour.

When it comes to hospitals, they operate with a single goal in mind, which is to keep the mother and baby completely safe. This works great most of the time, but this also means that there is not much control over birthing plan and women in labour may not have the desired birthing experience.

Now, if you are considering a water birth or more movement during labour or the ability to snack, then you may have to strongly reconsider the department of labour and delivery.

The Cost

Birth Centres are usually more affordable when compared to hospitals. Additionally, birthing centres also accept many different insurance plans and can even help you in figuring out the overall cost that you may have to pay during the pregnancy.

The best advantage of giving birth at hospitals is that they can bill most types of insurance, but that doesn’t really mean they are affordable, on the contrary they can be very expensive. Hospitals tend to be more expensive and with added fees for hospital resources such as IV lines, pain medication, belly monitors, etc. the cost may fly high.

Conclusion

Whatever your decision may be, make sure to consider every point carefully. Moreover, keep in mind that if you are giving birth at a birthing centre and there comes a complication then you may have to be shifted to a hospital. Therefore, if there is a condition of high risk pregnancy, then giving birth at hospitals is the ideal solution.