Birthing Center

I don't know if this will help or not. I had my son at the Birthplace at Wellesley that is now closed. There are now only 2 birth centers left in the state. One is in Cambridge and the other is on the North Shore.

I know that CNM's are used less in Central and Western Mass than they are around Boston.

I do believe that there are midwives that have privileges at Landmark in Woonsocket.

I can tell you that my Birth Center birth was absolutely amazing even though it wasn't "birth plan" perfect. It was a 2 1/2 minute ride to the hospital so I never felt if I or my son needed emergency care it was too far away.

Women and Infants in Providence has a birthing center - it's an amazing hospital and will give you the birthing center experience while still having the hospital to back things up if something goes wrong and you need medical attention.

Having had my baby there I can say that the nursing staff is AMAZING!

Hi R.,
There is a birth center .... here is the link. ww.birthcottage.com
Wonderful place. Check it out!

M.
____@____.com

R.,

I had both of my children at Worcester Medical Center (St. Vincent's Hospital) with the midwives from the Fallon ob/gyn practice there (you don't have to have Fallon insurance to go there). I was very happy with my experiences there. My first child was delivered by a doctor after a long and complicated labor (I was attended to by a midwife up until the actual delivery - had to switch to the doctor due to the complications). My second child was delivered by the midwife - I didn't need to have a doctor at all for that labor and delivery. I highly recommend the midwives at that practice, and delivering at the hospital means that there is a doctor immediately available should the need for one arise.

K.

i don't know of any birthing centers but i had my son at brigham and womens hospital and had the most amazing doctors, nurses and care from beginning to end. i had my first son at new england medical cenetr and had a traumatizing expericing and was scared 2nd time around but vowed never to deliver at that hospital ever again but the staf at the brigham and womens hopital were swesome and if you do decide to do a midwife/hospital i recommend this hospital. good luck and hope tbis helps.

My son is 15 months old, and I had a midwife for his birth before we moved to central Mass. It was a wonderful experience, completely natural. I would do it the same way all over again I have the choice. I am anxious to find another midwife in the area, and have just started my research. If you look up "midwives" in the yellow pages for the Worcester area there is one listing. I am not aware of any birthing centers though. I am hoping to have another baby in a year myself, so I'll be interested in whether you find any more info on this!

Doulas and midwives are great.. I wish I used them! I would suggest asking your dr about them, that way you have time to find someone you like before you are pregnant..They probably have a list of them. But you also need to realize, birth plans are great, but if complications arise (like high bp) then the plan will and should be abandoned in order to safely deliver your baby and keep you healthy. Things happen unexpectantly, and it doesn't mean you didn't get the whole "birth experience", it just means that you needed some extra help there. Choosing drugs is not a bad option either. I know it affects the baby (I had it twice), but we aren't superwomen either. Don't look at a birth plan as the absolute thing you HAVE to do - sometimes circumstances take over and other things need to be considered. good luck

I can't rave enough about the Alternative Birthing Center at Women & Infants. I am a mother of 2 girls. Bryana is 5 and I had her at a hospital and had pitocin, iv, fetal monitor, epidural, everything..... I was not satified at all with her 13 hour long labor and delivery. I also have a 7 month old that I delivered at ABC birthing center. I had absolutely no medical intervention, I had a completely natural child birth. Just the way women have been having them forever with no need for a so called " medical doctor ".My labor was only 5 hours and I labor mostly in the jacuzzi. It was such a great experience, so natural. The staff there were also great and most importantly they respect your decision and help you in achieving your goal. Anyways, I hope that you are able to find a good birthing place as well as a good midwife. Congratulations and good luck!!!

I would strongly recommend using a doctor. I only say this because I had a very healthy and normal pregnancy and expected to have my son via a vaginal delivery and after 20 hours I only dilated 3 and a half centimeters and my sons heartbeat was dropping really low with each contraction and they had to do an emergency c-section because they needed to get my son out asap. Midwifes can't do c-sections and for myself I wanted a doctor in case an emergency happened, which it ended up happing with me. I had my son at Baystate in Springfield and everyone there was great.