Birthing center near a hospital near Marietta, GA? (water birth preferred)

[Georgia_Julia]

Hi, everyone! After six miscarriages, we are 12 weeks pregnant with what seems to be a healthy, growing baby so far. This will be our first surviving child.

DH and I both very much would like a home water birth, but I am almost 40 and considered high-risk because of that. We are at least a 30-minute drive from Kennestone Hospital, where we I'd give birth if I were doing it at a hospital.

I'd LOVE to give birth at home, but there's the creeping fear of what if something goes wrong and I actually did legitimately need an intervention... I'd never forgive myself if we lost a healthy baby because of my perfect little vision of doing a home birth.

I thought a good compromise would be a birthing center that's close to Kennestone. Does anyone know of such a place?

Alternatively, do you know of any midwives near Kennestone who might allow me to give birth in their home??

[Surefirelime]

First of all I am SO happy for you!  This is my first pregnancy too and I got really excited about the thought of a birth center, somewhere in between a hospital which I want nothing to do with and a home birth.  Sadly in Georgia there is only one birthing center and it is located in Savannah.  I know a lot of people are working hard to get one opened in Atlanta but I don't believe that's going to be for a bit.  I chose to go with a home birth and am using Beth and Rachel at Birthingway (birthingway.com).  They are awesome so far (I'm only 15 weeks!) and I'm very comfortable with my decision.  I do understand your concerns due to a high risk pregnancy however.  Maybe you could look into a hospital that allows more natural methods like water birth?  I don't know anything about Kennestone but it might even offer some other options.  I don't think you are going to find a midwife that will allow you to give birth at their home or office but maybe just talk to a few and see what they think is best for you.  I can tell you midwives will recommend you to a hospital if they talk to you and don't think it's a good idea for you to do a home birth.  On the other hand if you speak with your doctor they will make sure to scare you into using a hospital.  You will get a more honest answer from a midwife.  Hope that's helpful!  Sending you best wishes, a happy, healthy and safe pregnancy and birth!

[ayb922]

there are no birth centers in atlanta (yet!)

why would it be better to do it in the midwives home?

if you really want a waterbirth and don't want a home birth then the only places you could have one are atlanta medical center or north fulton. i wouldn't recommend n fulton but highly recommend intown midwifery and amc.

[doulanichole]

You're at high risk for what bc you're 40? Absolutely nothing that relates to the birth itself.

If you are going to choose a hospital birth bc you fear something going wrong, at least choose a hospital/practice that will work with you and respect your wishes. Kennestone, while it may be convenient, will not be the facility for that.

Edited by doulanichole - 10/18/11 at 10:47am

[Georgia_Julia]

THANK YOU all so much!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ayb922 

there are no birth centers in atlanta (yet!)

why would it be better to do it in the midwives home?

if you really want a waterbirth and don't want a home birth then the only places you could have one are atlanta medical center or north fulton. i wouldn't recommend n fulton but highly recommend intown midwifery and amc.

I thought there was one in N. Fulton... either that one or the one in the city will be about an hour's drive for us, but I guess that's manageable. Why wouldn't you recommend the N. Fulton one, if you don't mind my asking?
 

Originally Posted by doulanichole 

You're at high risk for what bc you're 40? Absolutely nothing that relates to the birth itself.

If you are going to choose a hospital birth bc you fear something going wrong, at least choose a hospital/practice that will work with you and respect your wishes. Kennestone, while it may be convenient, will not be the facility for that.

Thank you! It's so refreshing and empowering to hear you say that. I come from a long line of women who had healthy babies between the ages of 40 and 46, so I have good genes on my side! I'm in good shape so I didn't think it should be a problem, but then again, we've lost so many babies, it would absolutely kill me if something unexpectedly went wrong. 

I suspected what you said about Kennestone to be true. Oddly enough, though, I had breakfast this morning with a friend (not as "natural"-minded as I am) and she said that they didn't pressure her into any interventions whatsoever, didn't force vaccines on her babies, and they even have two waterbirthing tubs... so I'm wondering if I had a midwife birth there (through a midwife at my OB's office, OB/GYN Associates) it might be more of an experience in line with my wishes, as opposed to a typical OB-driven hospital birth. If you have any specific info about why Kennestone should be avoided even with a midwife birth, I would love to know about it.

Originally Posted by Surefirelime 

First of all I am SO happy for you!  This is my first pregnancy too and I got really excited about the thought of a birth center, somewhere in between a hospital which I want nothing to do with and a home birth.  Sadly in Georgia there is only one birthing center and it is located in Savannah.  I know a lot of people are working hard to get one opened in Atlanta but I don't believe that's going to be for a bit.  I chose to go with a home birth and am using Beth and Rachel at Birthingway (birthingway.com).  They are awesome so far (I'm only 15 weeks!) and I'm very comfortable with my decision.  I do understand your concerns due to a high risk pregnancy however.  Maybe you could look into a hospital that allows more natural methods like water birth?  I don't know anything about Kennestone but it might even offer some other options.  I don't think you are going to find a midwife that will allow you to give birth at their home or office but maybe just talk to a few and see what they think is best for you.  I can tell you midwives will recommend you to a hospital if they talk to you and don't think it's a good idea for you to do a home birth.  On the other hand if you speak with your doctor they will make sure to scare you into using a hospital.  You will get a more honest answer from a midwife.  Hope that's helpful!  Sending you best wishes, a happy, healthy and safe pregnancy and birth!

Thank you!! Did you know about the N. Fulton one and the other one mentioned on this thread? In any case, it sounds like you've got a great plan in place... and yes, after talking with my friend this morning, I even have hopes for a water birth at Kennestone! Definitely a good idea to be interviewing midwives even though I'm still so early... I will feel much better once I have a plan in place that will allow me to go through natural labor & delivery, ideally waterbirth, but still have access to emergency procedures should I or the baby need them.

Congrats on your pregnancy as well!! I keep watching birth videos and documentaries like "In the Womb" and it just makes me weepy how amazing this is!!!

Thank you again so much for your helpful replies!!

[doulanichole]

Your friend is mistaken. There used to be 3 hydrotherapy tubs on the L&D floor of Kennestone, but they removed them to make way for an additional OR (which is very telling in itself). Kennestone however has never offered waterbirth as an option and only the right candidate could even labor in the water.

I gave birth to my first 2 children there and have attended many births there through the years (until about 6 years ago when I witnessed how bad things had gotten for laboring women there and chose not to return). The hospital used to be great with some fantastic midwives. The hospital has in recent years implemented more and more policies that make normal birth difficult (separating moms from support in triage, closing the waiting room on the L&D floor, adding a well baby nursery, crappy vbac policies, etc). While there are still some decent midwives there, they still work under OB's. OB's who don't necessarily practice evidence based medicine. While you might be able to get a decent birth at Kennestone, consider how much of a fight you may have to put up to get it. Is it worth it? 

Congrats on your pregnancy! There are still a couple of great options out there and you have time to choose well.

[ayb922]

I wouldn't recommend the midwives that deliver at North Fulton. If you had to choose between the two hands down I would choose IM and AMC

[thorn]

Another vote for the midwives at Intown Midwifery if you are looking for a waterbirth in a hospital :)

[Georgia_Julia]

Originally Posted by doulanichole 

Your friend is mistaken. There used to be 3 hydrotherapy tubs on the L&D floor of Kennestone, but they removed them to make way for an additional OR (which is very telling in itself). Kennestone however has never offered waterbirth as an option and only the right candidate could even labor in the water.

I gave birth to my first 2 children there and have attended many births there through the years (until about 6 years ago when I witnessed how bad things had gotten for laboring women there and chose not to return). The hospital used to be great with some fantastic midwives. The hospital has in recent years implemented more and more policies that make normal birth difficult (separating moms from support in triage, closing the waiting room on the L&D floor, adding a well baby nursery, crappy vbac policies, etc). While there are still some decent midwives there, they still work under OB's. OB's who don't necessarily practice evidence based medicine. While you might be able to get a decent birth at Kennestone, consider how much of a fight you may have to put up to get it. Is it worth it? 

Congrats on your pregnancy! There are still a couple of great options out there and you have time to choose well.

Thank you SO MUCH for letting me know this. When DH came home from work, I was telling him all the seemingly good points about giving birth at Kennestone I learned from my friend, and he was adamant that he doesn't trust Kennestone. (He suspects that even though we would decline all newborn vax etc., he thinks they would whisk the baby away and do whatever they're going to do anyway!) DH has an annoying habit of ALWAYS ending up being right about these things, so I agreed to forget the Kennestone idea, although it seemed a shame at the time since I thought they might allow waterbirth. I'm so glad you let me know this is not the case!

Definitely looking into Intown Midwifery now... it seems it could be the best of both worlds! Thank you so very much for the recommendation! I'm still curious why you all don't recommend N. Fulton, but I will hunt down reviews of them if I can. 

Thank you again!!

Edited by Georgia_Julia - 10/18/11 at 5:30pm

[thorn]

MDC doesn't allow us to post negative reviews on here, so I will just say I agree with this:
 

Originally Posted by ayb922 

I wouldn't recommend the midwives that deliver at North Fulton. If you had to choose between the two hands down I would choose IM and AMC

The midwives who NOW deliver at Atlanta Medical Center (Intown Midwifery), and one who is now doing homebirths, USED to deliver at N. Fulton, and it had a very good reputation at the time, but none of them are there anymore.

If you're looking for in-depth provider reviews, check out the ICAN of Atlanta forum posted in my signature, it has a provider reviews section (it's a great resource, you don't have to have had a c-section to join the message board and read the reviews)

[Georgia_Julia]

Originally Posted by thorn 

MDC doesn't allow us to post negative reviews on here, so I will just say I agree with this: 

The midwives who NOW deliver at Atlanta Medical Center (Intown Midwifery), and one who is now doing homebirths, USED to deliver at N. Fulton, and it had a very good reputation at the time, but none of them are there anymore.

If you're looking for in-depth provider reviews, check out the ICAN of Atlanta forum posted in my signature, it has a provider reviews section (it's a great resource, you don't have to have had a c-section to join the message board and read the reviews)

Christine, thank you for that; and I apologize about the rule (it's been a while since I was on here!). I appreciate your pointing me in the right direction while in keeping with the forum rules. :)

DH is leaning toward homebirth and doesn't think anything will go wrong... it makes me a bit nervous since I know of three women whose babies passed away during a home birth, and we're so far from the nearest hospital... but, I will interview some midwives and hope that I can trust my body to not kill my baby again.
 

[mytwomonkies]

They're working on getting one in Atlanta! http://www.atlantabirthcenter.org/

[Busybody42]

I actually delivered two babies at North fulton hospital. The first I delivered with a doc and the second I did epidural-free with a midwife. While I had no complications either time, I appreciated the second experience better. The nurses were wonderful in helping/encouraging me through the process and my midwife was great. I wouldn't discount the hospital for the water birth experience. The midwives and nurses still have a great reputation - and it's a nice facility. Have fun during the search!

[RachelL321]

I will chime in here.. I had my second daughter in May of 2010 ant North Fulton. I labored in the tub, but due to unforeseen complications I ended up getting an epidural and birthing in the bed. I used Kaye Johnson and her partner Janet at Alpharetta Women's Specialist. I was never pressured into anything I did not want to do, all the nurses were wonderful and my baby never left my side. Basically we were left alone except for the occasional visit by the nurse to check my vitals. We left exactly 24 hours after delivery with no hassle what so ever. No vaxs, no eye goop, delayed cord cutting, my husband basically "caught" the baby and brought her up to my chest with direction from Janet. I have no complaints about my pre and postnatal care and my hospital experience, except the wait time on some of my appointments.