Childbirth Choices :: Choosing a Birth Place
Birth Center | Hospital | Home Birth
One of the most important decisions you make during your pregnancy is choosing where to have your baby. In the Triangle, women have many options, including large university-affiliated teaching hospitals, smaller community hospitals, a free-standing birth center, and home birth. Choosing where to have your baby is a very personal decision, and there is no “right” birthplace for everyone.
It is important to do your research, investigate your options, and choose the birth location where you feel most comfortable. Because birth is a physiologic process mediated by hormones, it is essential that the laboring mother is in a place where she feels safe and secure. Oxytocin, the hormone that propels the birth process, is released when mothers feel safe. Adrenaline, on the other hand, which can stop contractions, is released by the body when the mother feels threatened. So check out your options, and pick the birth place where you feel safest! The normal progress of your labor may depend on it.
To help you make a more informed decision, the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS), has published 10 Questions to ask any birth place you are considering.
Explore this section to learn more about the birth place choices available to you here in the Triangle.