Birth Centres2022-07-21T15:12:57+10:00

Birth Centres

Birth Centres originated in the 1970s in response to consumer demand. Many women wanted to avoid routine medical intervention during their labours, so they lobbied for the establishment of birth units with a relaxed, comfortable and homelike environment. Currently, birth centres are a popular option for women who aim for a natural, active, and with water birth as an option.

Birth Centres

Birth centres are designed to be a home away from home. It is either a separate unit located away from the labour ward. It can also be a freestanding unit not attached to a hospital. Birthing centres encompass a philosophy that pregnancy and birth are normal. It is a natural event in the life of a woman and her family. Small teams of midwives are generally staff, providing continuity of care for women through pregnancy, birth and the early postnatal period.

Pregnant women are able to get to know the midwives and be familiar with the midwife providing labour care. Partners, support people, siblings and other family members are encouraged to be involved. After childbirth, some provide postnatal care from a few hours to a few days (each birth centre is different). Follow-up is either provided at home by birth centre midwives, on a postnatal ward at the local hospital or by community midwives.

Australia’s Birth Centre

Generally, birth centres don’t have facilities for interventions such as continuous monitoring of the baby, epidurals, forceps/vacuum or caesarean births. In the event of complications, a woman transfers to the labour ward of the nearest hospital. Birth centres usually accept women classified as having a low risk of complications. Most birth centres have a list of risk factors that excludes certain women from giving birth in the centre. Birth centres provide safe care in a comfortable and relaxed environment, however, in Australia they’re few and far between, particularly in rural areas. New Zealand hosts over 60 units across the country (see List of Australian Birth Centres and List of New Zealand Birth Centres).

In Australia, birth centres are mostly attached to public hospitals. Midwifery-led care in these centres is free (being completely covered by Medicare). Care by a private midwife or doctor in a birth centre is usually claimable through Medicare and/or a private health fund. In New Zealand the majority of birth centres are freestanding. Care provided in the centres by midwives or doctors is free.

Caregivers who provide birth centre services include:

  • Private midwives
  • Midwives employed by the centre
  • Private obstetricians

Excerpt from Pregnancy For Dummies, 2nd Australian and New Zealand Edition. Reproduced with permission. For more information on birth choices purchase a copy of Pregnancy For Dummies online.

Birth Centre Articles

List of Australian Birth Centres

Find out about the different Australian birth centres. In Australia, birth centres are mostly attached to public hospitals. Midwifery-led care in these centres is free (being completely covered by Medicare). Care by a private midwife or doctor in a birth centre is usually claimable through Medicare and/or a private health fund. Scroll down below to find the birth centres in your state: Australian Capital Territory Centenary Hospital for Women and Children Canberra Hospital, Yamba Drive, Garran

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List of New Zealand Birth Centres

By Jane Palmer The following is a comprehensive list of midwifery-run birth centres across New Zealand. This list includes primary maternity units located within hospitals and free-standing birth centres. New Zealand hosts approximately 60 primary care primary maternity units or birth centres. Gathering contact details is difficult, so I've included the centres that call themselves birth centres or whose details are available on the Internet. As a result, this list doesn’t contain all birth centres or primary maternity facilities

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