Customized Birth Experiences to Empower Mothers 🤰
- Summer 2023
New Beginnings Birth Center aims to empower parents to make important decisions that create the birth experience they want. Mothers who are comfortable with their choices and feel their preferences are heard are able to relax and focus on the task at hand: giving birth.
“We support women to trust their own bodies and their babies’ own abilities as well as advocate for themselves in the decision-making process when changes in plan of care arises,” said Obstetrics Director Michelle Sand, RN. “Mom is in the driver’s seat and can choose how she wants to labor as long as it’s safe for her and baby. We teach the BAR technique of decision making, ensuring moms know the benefits, alternatives and risks to any intervention to help them make an educated decision.”
As a standard of care, Brookings Health offers wireless fetal monitoring so mothers can move around during labor. The obstetrics team also lets moms eat and drink as they are able. When the baby is born, labor and delivery staff delay cord clamping and immediately start skin-to-skin contact between baby and mom.
In addition, New Beginnings Birth Center also offers a wide range of comfort items, techniques and support to help create the birth experience parents want. Options include support persons like doulas, ways to move and devices to help with motion, items for personal comfort, environmental settings, hydrotherapy, touch and mindfulness techniques, medical pain relief and sleep aids.
“Even when things do not go as planned and mom needs a Cesarean section, she still has options,” said Sand.
For C-sections, mothers may still bring their support person with to surgery. They also can listen to music and they have the option for a clear drape or to have the drape lowered so they can see their baby being delivered. After the baby has delivered, the standard care of delayed cord clamping, immediate skin-to-skin contact and breastfeeding initiation still apply. The care team also tries to keep mom and baby together during recovery.
“In the end, we all have the same goal,” said Sand, “a healthy mom and a healthy baby.”
Want to learn more about your options for delivering at New Beginnings Birth Center? Download and fill-out your own birth plan at brookingshealth.org/BirthPlan.