kateandlisaWelcome to the 3-Part Series about your choices and decisions on your maternity care. We will explore these three decisions:
- Birthplace Basics – different types of birth settings
- Your Options – hospital, birthing center or at home
- Collecting the information you need – summarizing the research on different birth settings
It is important to make thoughtful decisions about who will provide your maternity care and where you will give birth. These major decisions can affect:
- The care you receive and the effects of that care
- The quality of your relationship with your care providers
- How much information you will get
- The choices and options you will have, particularly during labor and birth
- Your involvement with decisions about your care
Most women in the US can consider giving birth in a hospital, an out-of-hospital birth center or at home. This section gives you information on why your decision about where to give birth is important. You are offered tools to help you make decisions. Birth basics, options and collecting the information you need are important. You will learn throughout the series these decisions go hand in hand about who will be your maternity care provider. You will learn that it is important to ask whether these continue to be the right choices for you as time goes on.
Your maternity care provider likely attends births in just one or two places. That means you are choosing a place of birth when you choose a maternity care provider. Even though choosing where you give birth and who will provider your maternity care may take time and energy making good choices about these important issues is well worth the effort. On to Part 1!
Birthplace Basics
On this post, learn about different types of birth settings, how they compare, basic things to keep in mind as you start choosing a birth place, and how to make sure your insurance covers your choice.
Where can I get maternity care?
Most childbearing women in the US are healthy and can choose to give birth in a hospital, in-or-out-of-hospital birth center or at home.
If you have a serious medical condition or are at high risk for developing such a condition, you will probably want to plan to give birth in a hospital and be in the care of a doctor who is board-certified in obstetrics. Your care provider can tell you about situations that could require more specialized care.
How do birth settings differ?
Places where women give birth can vary in important ways:
- Their culture about the birthing process (philosophy of birth). For example – do they view the childbirth process as healthy dependent on technology or on healthy body processes?
- Style of practice, such as how much time care providers spend with you, how much information you receive, your involvement in decision-making, and the types of interventions that care providers might use and how quick they are to use them.
- The number and type of care providers who practice within the setting and patients’ access to specialized care.
What should I think about when choosing where I will give birth?
The following are signs of an excellent choice of birthplace:
- The place of birth offers care based on the best available research about what is safe and effective
- The environment and practices in the birth setting work to support your body’s natural ability to give birth, rather than disrupt it
- The staff is committed and able to provide you with lots of support, including comfort and information
- The setting offers individualized care based on your health needs, the needs of your baby and your personal preferences and values
Try to avoid choosing a place of birth solely based on location, insurance coverage, a friend’s recommendation, or because you have used that hospital for other health care needs. While these things may factor into your final decision, you will want to learn about the full range of maternity care services a hospital or birth center offers before deciding whether it is right for you.
Is where I give birth related to the care provider I choose?
Yes. Where you give birth and who provides your maternity care are closely connected. You will want to choose a birth setting that has care providers who will meet your needs in pregnancy, during labor and birth and after birth.
For example, if you decide to give birth in a hospital, your care provider will be a physician or, if available, a midwife who practices there. Midwives usually provide care in out-of-hospital birth centers, at hospitals and at home. Doctors attend births at hospitals and occasionally at out-of-hospitals birth centers.
What will my insurance cover?
You will have to make phone calls to answer this question. Call your chosen birth setting and be sure that it accepts your insurance. If your chosen birth setting does accept your insurance, you will need to call your insurance company and ask;
- Does my plan cover care in my chosen birth setting?
- Does my plan cover the care provider I have chosen?
- Are any specific maternity services not covered?
For more support and guidance, grab a complimentary session and we can work out a plan.
