Birth Center Birth & Aftercare
Prenatal care and getting started!
Birth Centers are designed to be care centers for pregnant people who have healthy, low-risk pregnancies.
Are you low-risk! Great! Let’s find a time to have you see our space and have an appointment with the midwives!
Don’t know if you are low risk, or if other factors cause you to pause?
No problem. You can meet with the midwives and have your medical history reviewed together to go over what is possible. You choose us as your provider and it’s getting close to your due date!
Some reasons we may not be able to provide labor support:
You’ve had uterine surgery before
You are planning to use IV pain relief during labor
You have been diagnosed with diabetes before being pregnant
You would like to have labor induced
Some health history that does not disqualify you from birth center care, but will require us to ask more questions:
BMI <18 or >40
This is your first birth and you are 40 years old or older
If this is a subsequent birth and you are over 45 years old
If you have had 10 births or more
If you have a health history of premature birth or birth complications
If there is a family history or a child born with hereditary disease or congenital anomalies
If you have had a third trimester or neonatal loss with the last pregnancy
If you are already 24 weeks pregnant or more and have not yet begun prenatal care.
Building confidence to labor at home
Even at a birth center where we have you as our focus, have evidence-based care, and can offer client-led birth support - we STRONGLY SUGGEST you hire a doula. Labor doulas can come from many places, maybe they are your friend, a family member, or someone you hire to be with you at this special time.
Why do we recommend doula support?
This non-medical support person offers comfort and care through labor at home and your birth location. They bring calm, focused energy, and skills specialized for birth. They understand the normal progression of labor, help you work with your body's natural inclinations to move, vocalize, and process the sensations of labor, and provide continuity of care through to postpartum recovery.
Your midwife wants to hear from you! Making the decision of when to come the birth center won’t be something you do alone!
A difference between birth center birth and hospital birth is the expectation of when you leave your home. While we know families will spend a good amount of time with us, we want families to spend early labor at home where they can use their familiar setting to stimulate feelings of safety and security. Being at home can help your labor pattern become steady, and grow in intensity with contractions that are longer, stronger, and closer together! That means, when you come to the birth center, you will have (hopefully) already been laboring well with your chosen support folks (family, partner, doula!) for some time.
Monitoring in early labor is not necessary for low-risk clients, and you are our client because laboring at home is safe!
There isn’t anything you will have here, that you can’t have access to at home. If you want to rest, rest. If you want to eat, eat. If you want to get in the shower or tub, get in the water. When you arrive at BCC, we will have your room prepared, with bath drawn and lights dim for you to continue laboring seamlessly with us.
When to Come to the Birth Center
Communication is key! Having a doula present will help with communication and confidence building. Laboring at home does not mean you don’t get to talk with your midwives! The midwives want to hear from you when you are in labor. Whenever there is a “significant change” - how you define it - that is a good time to call and check-in. Remember, the birth center is NOT staffed 24/7, so be sure to call the midwife before you come so our team can meet you here!
Ideally, a great time to come to the birth center is sometime after you are in active labor, but before the transition phase begins. Because everyone’s labor is unique, and sometimes outward signs of labor do not match internal changes. No problem! More communication the better, and we can’t wait to see you here when you come!
2nd Stage and Positions for Birth
2nd stage is also called pushing! Midwives are here with you! At the Birth Center of Chicago, you are making decisions about where you want to be, who you want to be with you, where your body is located, and how you meet your child. The midwives are here to offer guidance and reassurance - not demands, that includes when and how long to push. We support you following your body’s urges to push, as well as your intuition for breath, movement, and vocalizations . Some locations that we anticipate folks finding comfort for this part of labor: in our waterbirth tubs, on a birth stool, standing with support close by, using gravity and help from our birth swings, in a hands-and-knees position on or near the bed, or anywhere else that feels comfortable!
Early Recovery at the Birth Center of Chicago
Skin-to-skin, delayed cord clamping, and time to bond as a family are all normal parts of the early postpartum period at the birth center. Your baby will not be separated from you. Measurements, like taking your baby’s weight, height, and head circumference, will happen at some point before you are discharged to go home, but there is no rush. What is most important at this time is to ensure everyone is transitioning well after birth. A lot of information will be gathered through observation, and non-invasive monitoring, such as monitoring postpartum blood loss after the birth of the placenta, and assessing the baby’s respiration and heart rate.
In the immediate postpartum hours with us, we want you to have a nutritious first meal, to drink fluids, and we want you to bond with your baby as they explore with their eyes, hands, mouth, and skin. We offer additional bonding experiences through a herbal sitz bath, and beds large enough for your family to all snuggle as you see fit.
Lactation Support at the Birth Center of Chicago
For families choosing to breastfeed or chestfeeding, we fully support your efforts with baby-led introductions after birth. We do not separate you from your baby after birth. At Birth Center of Chicago you and your baby will benefit from the first Golden Hour together, and more. We will help with the first latches for feeding, positioning, and offer suggestions for common troubleshooting for the first days at home. You should plan to spend 4-6 hours at the center after you give birth, and then you can plan to tuck in for a longer rest at home.
At the follow-up visits, there will be support for reassuring healthy progress, good latch, position, and reaffirm the signs your baby is getting enough food from your body. If it’s identified that more advanced lactation support is necessary, we will get you connected with our lactation consultant, or IBCLC for ongoing support.
This fall we will be starting a drop-in lactation clinic, for clients and community members.
What to expect for follow-up care with the Birth Center
Depending on the time you give birth and return home after early postpartum care at the birth center, your first (and your baby’s first) follow-up visit with the midwives will be within the next 24-36 hours. Some of what happens at this first follow-up:
Infant weight check
Infant hearing screening
Bilirubin screening
Assess feeding and lactation questions
Additional follow-up appointments will happen on day 3 or 4 after birth, at two or three weeks after birth, and at 6 weeks after birth.
