Birth centers are for normal births. Part of planning for a safe birth center birth is considering the “what ifs” – what if a complication arises and you need to go to the hospital? Safe out-of-hospital birth depends on good collaborative relationships, and access to a higher level of care for appropriate medical intervention and technology, as needed, if complications arise.
Our consulting physicians are available 24/7 at UPMC Magee Hospital and West Penn Hospital. Our main referral hospital is UPMC Magee. Clients whose insurance does not allow them to receive care at UPMC Magee will be transferred to West Penn Hospital or Jefferson Hospital as deemed appropriate by the CNM and the physician on-call at WPH, or the CNM at Jefferson will assume care. The TMC CNMs do not accompany clients.
We strongly encourage a doula for labor to provide continued support. TMC providers will discuss the details of transfers with you further at your visits. The most common reason we transfer a client to the hospital is when contractions continue but the client stops making progress dilating. Often we can manage this in the birth center, but sometimes it does require a transfer to use medications to stimulate stronger contractions. The second most common reason for a transfer is that the client in labor requests more pain medication than we are able to provide at the birth center.
Other reasons for a transfer include increased blood pressure, presence of meconium in the amniotic fluid, the client developing a fever in labor, or problems with the baby’s heartbeat. Most often, a transfer is not an emergency and clients/partners drive to the hospital in their own car.
If it becomes necessary to transfer to the hospital, the original work and dream of a perfect, simple birth in the birth center must be adjusted. All our natural methods of walking, position changes, water therapy and nipple stimulation have been tried; the client is now in need of the technology and perhaps the surgical expertise that the hospital has to offer. Please remember that the hospital staff is there to help you and your baby. The doctors and nurses will know that you planned a simple, non-interventive birth and understand that you may be dealing with complex feelings as well as biological crisis.
Although being transferred means that you require more technology than planned, you can still work together with your new team to make the birth as normal as possible under the circumstances. We believe that by being prepared for all scenarios, you will have a deeper, more empowering birth experience and will feel that you made the best choices given the best information available at the time. The facts are not all in yet.
We, as a culture, are still learning about the wonders of pregnancy and birth. May you make a conscious choice.
Obstetric Care Provided by our Medical Collaborators at UPMC Magee
UPMC Magee’s experienced team of prenatal health professionals, led by board-certified obstetricians-gynecologists, welcome more than 8,000 newborns to the world every year. Magee’s comprehensive obstetric services include:
• 24-hour staffing by experienced, board-certified obstetricians
• Private and spacious labor, delivery, and recovery suites (LDRs)
• Private postpartum suites
• Cesarean birthing rooms with 24-hour staffing by experienced, board-certified anesthesiologists
• High-risk pregnancy care provided by physicians specializing in maternal-fetal medicine and neonatology
• Newborn nurseries easily accessible to postpartum rooms and suites
• Parent-infant nursing care to encourage early maternal bonding
• Certified lactation specialists to provide one-on-one breastfeeding support and education
• A Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit staffed by experienced, board-certified neonatologists, a neonatal nurse practitioner, and registered nurses with expertise in neonatal intensive care Obstetric Care also provided by our medical collaborators at West Penn Hospital