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It's a pivotal moment in every parent's life: the day their children are born. For moms-to-be, planning a birth can bring up many concerns. The decision on where to deliver is not always an easy one. Hospitals have the medical staff and technology to ensure mom and baby will be safe, but might lack in physical comforts. Home births can provide those comforts, but don’t have the medical support on hand should something go wrong.
Down at Dixie Regional Medical Center, the Simply Birth suites provide the best of both worlds. Cathy Eldridge, prenatal education coordinator at the Simply Birth Birthing Center, says “the goal was to provide that home-like atmosphere in the safety net of the hospital.”
Only steps away from a state-of-the-art labor and delivery unit complete with a level three NICU and a high-risk OB program, a Simply Birth suite provides a low-intervention, homelike birth setting with a queen-size bed, a large birthing tub, private bathroom and kitchenette. Eldridge says, “the fact that they can deliver in a queen-size bed with their husband beside them really enhances their emotional experience. Birthing centers are not just a location, it’s a philosophy.”
A philosophy Jamie Staples couldn't agree with more. Staples, a new mom to little Jacob born just three weeks ago in a Simply Birth suite, says she found the atmosphere perfect for what she envisioned and the staff highly trained. “The nurses in the Simply Birth suite have gone through hypnobirthing,” she says.
Midwives, doulas, family and friends are welcome to share the experience, with a full hospital staff on hand, should any complications arise.
“All in all, I couldn’t have asked for a better experience,” Staples says, an experience she says is tailored to make each birth memorable.
For more information about the Simply Birth experience, talk to your physician to make sure you are eligible for a low-risk delivery. Applications are being accepted. For more information, call 435-688-5345 or email DRMCBIRTH@imail.org.
