Can I Get an Induction at the Birth Center?
Birth induction is a common concept in hospital births. You might have come across the term during any of your childbirth education videos or reading. While it is a common practice in hospitals, it is not something that birth centers use. Here’s what you need to know about induction in the context of a birth center birth.
Can you be induced at a birthing center?
The birth center does not perform or offer labor inductions. Instead, we focus on natural, spontaneous labor and aim to keep labor progressing naturally. We also focus on your prenatal care in preparing you and your body to have a successful and uneventful natural labor.
Proper labor inductions with medications or surgical interventions are mainly done in a hospital setting with continuous fetal and maternal monitoring. This is important since induction can sometimes cause maternal muscle exhaustion and fetal compromise, requiring urgent attention.
Since our staff is trained for natural births, we can not ensure care for induced births.
Can you request to be induced at the hospital after you start care at the birth center?
Certain conditions may require induction of labor due to the risk of fetal compromise or maternal complications. These conditions include:
- The mother has uncontrolled diabetes mellitus or gestational diabetes.
- The mother has high blood pressure or preeclampsia or eclampsia.
- Mother has a known heart condition.
- There is an active uterine infection that may be a threat to the baby.
- The labor hasn’t started after 42 weeks.
- The baby isn’t growing or has an intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR).
In most of these cases, your care may be transferred to the hospital before the time for labor and delivery, as we do not handle some of the issues listed above at our center. However, there could be times where we need to transfer during your labor and delivery with us for an induction. If you want to opt out of natural birth and have an induction for other reasons, you need to discuss it with your midwife, and we will arrange a transfer if possible.
Can you go to the birth center if induced?
If you delivered after being induced, we recommend following up with your OB/GYN in the immediate postpartum period to make sure you’re doing well. You can always come to us later to continue your postpartum and well-woman care.
What are ways that the birth center can promote labor?
While we do not induce labor, we encourage the use of natural methods that can help promote spontaneous labor. These include:
- Walking
- Using a yoga ball
- Miles Circuit
- Nipple stimulation
- Eating certain foods to promote contractions
- Intimacy with a partner
In case the labor slows down, we recommend using the same natural methods, and in most cases, they help to encourage labor progression. Our team is present to provide continuous support throughout the process.
If you have any other concerns around labor induction, feel free to ask your midwife at your next prenatal appointment!