Advantages

Advantages...

Why choose a Birth Center?

A birth center is a return to the traditional, non-invasive way of giving birth. The Miami Maternity Center operates with a simple philosophy:

"Everything we do is for the comfort, health, and well-being of our mommies and babies."

Birth is a natural experience. God knew what He was doing when He made the birth process. We allow nature to take its course and allow the pregnancy and labor to develop without intervention. If an indication arises that calls for intervention, only then do we intervene.

What are the advantages of the Miami Maternity Center?

Our birth center has many advantages:

1. Reduce the Risk of Unnecessary and/or Harmful Procedures
2. Birth Without Drugs: Better for You and Your Baby
3. Established Pain Management Techniques
4. Hospital Diseases Are NOT Found in Birth Centers
5. You and Your Baby are NOT Separated
6. Our Entire Staff Becomes Your Family
7. You Decide How You Want Labor and Birth to Proceed
8. Highly Experienced Staff
9. Availability of Water Birth & Home Birth
10. Insurance Accepted / One Low Price Package

Reduce the Risk of Unnecessary and/or Harmful Procedures. Taking scissors and cutting the vagina, commonly referred to as an "episiotomy," when done solely for the purpose of birthing faster so everyone can get home, is an unacceptable procedure at the Miami Maternity Center. This is just one example of the many unnecessary and harmful, yet routine, procedures that we do not engage in (except in an emergency).

Although many hospitals have an episiotomy rate near 100% for vaginal births, episiotomies are rarely, if ever done, and even our obstetrician has an episiotomy rate of less than 10%.

Other unnecessary and possibly harmful procedures that we do not routinely engage in include:

i. Unnecessary breaking of waters
ii. Inductions
iii. Enemas
iv. Intravenous Fluids
v. Continuous electronic monitoring,
vi. Forcing labor while flat on back
vii. Withholding fluids from mother
viii. Unnecessary multiple vaginal exams
ix. Admission blood draws

Birth Without Drugs: Better for You and Your Baby.

When a women becomes pregnant, she will usually stop smoking, stop drinking alcohol, stop caffeine and generally won't take anything without asking her doctor if it is safe. If she refuses these everyday products so as not to harm her baby, why would she now want to ingest controlled substances in labor?

The thousands of women that have previously delivered with the center's staff will tell you that there is a remarkable difference in their children when they compare their babies delivered without any drugs to previous children when drugs were used.

Common sense tells us that if a grown adult takes 2 tablespoons of cough syrup, we would NEVER give the same dosage to our 7 pound baby. Any drug dosage given to you in labor gives the same dosage to your unborn baby. The same instinct to avoid drugs during pregnancy should be continued during labor UNLESS MEDICALLY NECESSARY.

Even the famous epidural has many drawbacks. The following are some of the complications listed on the "Epidural Consent Form:" spinal headache, low blood pressure, needle breakage requiring surgery, blood clots, seizures, etc.

For these reasons you can rest assured that the drug-free policy at the Miami Maternity Center is solely for the benefit of mothers and their babies.

Established Pain Management Techniques.

At the Birth Center we use numerous pain management techniques that are totally safe and effective. Many of these techniques are practiced in our FREE childbirth classes and include:

Massage:
Using pressure and counter pressure at the appropriate times to relieve labor-induced pains.
Hydrotherapy:
Relaxing in a warm tub during labor, giving the baby buoyancy in utero and reducing the weight of the baby on your back.
Respiratory Relaxation:
Practiced breathing techniques designed to ease labor pains while simultaneously increasing oxygen flow to your baby.
Freestyle Positioning:
Allowing the mother to assume and deliver in any position that feels comfortable to her reduces labor pains and reduces fetal distress.
Ambulating:
Allowing the mother free mobility during labor without being strapped to monitors shortens labor and reduces pain.
Video Distraction:
Taking the mother's mind off her labor by substituting video stimuli, including individually selected movies.
Professional Coaching:
We provide a specially trained labor attendant who works with you through labor and delivery to relax and comfort you and keep you focused on your goal: delivering a healthy baby.

Hospital Diseases Are NOT Found in Birth Centers

One of the first things you notice when entering our birth center is that it is small and intimate and DOES NOT smell like a hospital. This is because a birth center is a place where healthy women come to have their babies, while a hospital is a place designed for sick people. Even on hospital maternity floors, mothers and babies may have pneumonia, hepatitis, HIV, Syphilis, etc. Birth Centers do not deliver women with these conditions thereby reducing the possibility that you or your newborn can become exposed. This explains the lack of "hospital smell."

You and Your Baby are NOT Separated

The safest place for your baby to be is in your arms. That is why we keep mommy, daddy, and baby together. While hospitals install multi-million dollar security systems to insure that your baby is not switched or stolen, we have a different approach: your baby never leaves your side. You don't have to worry about who has your newborn and what is being done to him or her. Remember, no one cares more about your baby than you do!

Our Entire Staff Becomes Your Family

The Miami Maternity Center has a major advantage over hospital birth: you get to know and become friends with our entire staff. With a hospital birth, you spend many months going to your doctor or midwife and get to know their entire staff. However, when the big moment arrives, you go to a strange hospital, and you place your trust in people that you don't know. Then, at shift change, another set of hospital staff takes over your care and all they get is a 1 minute summary from the nurse going off duty.

At the Miami Maternity Center, you come to the same place for your visits as you do for birth. Now when you come in labor, you see the same staff that has been caring for you over many months. You are totally familiar with the facility, everyone knows your name, and you know everyone that will be caring for you. Many women that are unable to have their family at their birth say, "Having the staff at the Miami Maternity Center at my baby's birth was just like having my family with me." (See our staff)

You Decide How You Want Labor and Birth to Proceed

Our Birth Center allows you the dignity to decide how you want your birth to be handled. Would you like to relax in a warm Jacuzzi with your husband holding you and massaging you? Would you like friends from church saying prayers while you are laboring? Would you like your birth videotaped? Would you like your baby's dad to cuddle with you in bed while you are in labor? Would you like your mother, your sister, your aunt and your husband all with you during birth? Do you have any religious customs that need to be adhered to? At the Miami Maternity Center, we listen to you and do everything we can to accommodate your desires.

Highly Experienced Staff

The midwives at Miami Maternity Center have over 30 years combined experience and have birthed their own children with midwives. (See our staff)

Availability of Water Birth & Home Birth

To give pregnant women as many options as possible, you are able to choose a waterbirth. Since some women prefer to birth in the comfort of their own home, home birth is also an option. See Waterbirth & Homebirth

Insurance Accepted / One Price Package

A major financial difference between the Miami Maternity Center and an OB/Hospital birth is that we use a one price package. This is important because traditionally doctors and hospitals make more money when you or your baby have problems or complications. With our one price program, we maximize profitability by keeping you and your baby healthy and keeping your birth uncomplicated.

We work with most insurance companies and HMOs. We also accept Medicaid. In addition, we are able to work out affordable payment plans for those families that wish to pay cash.