A birth center is an independent, homelike facility that works within the larger health care system to provide family-centered care for healthy, low-risk women before, during and after normal pregnancy, labor, and birth. At our center, care is provided by certified nurse midwives in collaboration with our physician colleagues at Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital.
A birth center is specially equipped for a laboring family’s needs. With a focus on comfort and safety, our Birth Center follows many practices that decrease the need for medical intervention and reduce complications, such as:
- Tubs for laboring and water birth
- Natural, rather than chemical, pain control
- Intermittent, rather than continuous, fetal monitoring
- Trusting labor to begin and proceed on your body’s timetable (within normal limits)
- Freedom to move and eat/drink as desired throughout labor
- Avoiding routine procedures to hasten the onset of labor, such as episiotomies or rupturing the bag of waters
Additionally, birth centers honor the special bonding that occurs in the first moments after birth with practices such as delayed cord clamping, immediate and continuous skin-to-skin contact, delayed cleaning and weighing, and the involvement of family members, as the mom desires. Santa Rosa Birth Center is proud to be the only Baby Friendly healthcare facility in the North Bay area.