Pros and cons of using a birth center

Pregnancy tends to make women do lots of research about everything they are experiencing, as well as their options when it comes to giving birth. It’s possible to give birth in a hospital, a birth center or even in your own home. If you have considered using a birth center, then you may be looking for the best licensed birth center Tampa Bay has to offer. Here are some pros and cons of using a birth center.

Comfort

The idea behind a birth center is that the mother-to-be can be as comfortable as possible, as if she is in her own home; however, professional help is available when it is needed. Many options for natural pain relief are offered as these birth centers do not provide medications like the epidural or Pitocin.

Rules

You must have a low risk pregnancy to be a candidate for giving birth in a center. If you have conditions such as preeclampsia, you would not be given this option. This helps to keep mom and baby as healthy and safe as possible.

Quick

Birth centers only allow you to be there for six to eight hours on average. This is very different from the hospital. You might be able to progress through your entire labor at the hospital. They also continue to monitor you and your baby for at least 24 hours after birth. A birth center, however, wants you to come in after most of the first stage if labor is over, and you go home right away after the baby is born. Some may think recovering at home is better, while others are comforted by the fact that someone will check to make sure everything is going well before sending the mom and baby home.

Regardless of where you decide to give birth, it is important to keep an open mind and be flexible. Things may not work out the way you want them to, but none of that will matter when you hold your new baby for the first time.