Giving birth in a hotel? Legality? Realistic?

[momileigh]

I am going to graduate from midwifery school in a few months and I'm starting to research my options as far as starting my practice without a whole ton of money. I am moving to an area where I'd love to start a birth center but I probably won't be able to afford it for a few years. I will be servicing an area where most of my clients would not be able to have a legal midwife-attended homebirth. (I'll be in a legal state, but they will be right over the border and not legal for me to practice in their home.) I know midwives who have done births in hotels. Besides needing to not be very upfront with hotels/motels as far as what you are using their room for, is there anything that makes it a bad idea? I know it isn't perfect, but could it be illegal? (I have been reading the laws and I can't find any reference to it whatsoever.) I think it would pretty much be like a homebirth, except not exactly at home, and pretty much like a birth center, except having to haul the gear there. Possibly a nice situation if the jacuzzi suite was available. Opinions and information, anyone?

[mwherbs]

have them take their own bedding-- hotels/motels are infamous for being dirty-- scope out the area maybe there is a place that has small casitas that would want the business- not near hooker land ; ) - I know that some midwives use their office as a place for clients to give birth- if you decide to rent an office keep this in mind- it is something that you would not be able to bill for but might be serviceable

[momileigh]

I think I would have to have my office licensed as a birth center in order to do that. Right??? I am sure I could use my home a few times but there might be a limit of some kind before you have to get a birth center license... haven't been able to figure that out from reading laws...

Thanks for the tip on bedding, that is so true, and we'd want to strip the bed anyway to waterproof it.

I don't think this town has a hooker-land!

[mwherbs]

it is a service you don't advertise but is something that is accomplished -- under the radar by many a midwife--- there are midwives I know who won't attend a birth further than 30 miles from a hospital and these clients come in and stay somewhere and in labor come in to the office to be checked and stay a while and .... well the baby came in the office... is it a birth center no not officially-- rotate it around don't think that this is illegal- I also know that a long time ago the grannies in the south would have an added screened in porch or out building that women would come and give birth at because it was too hard for them to get around to all the births---

[momileigh]

Well that makes a lot of sense! Thanks!

[bryonyvaughn]

Only a minute to respond but as a MW you should *never* rent any hotel room for a birth. It looks like *you* are running a nomadic birth center and have implied responsibility for the fitness of the environment. The parents should always rent the room. You are going to them (not to the hotel) to attend their birth.

If that's confusing post back and I'll clarify this evening.

Off to a family reunion.

~BV

[momileigh]

Very good point. Thanks!

[DoomaYula]

A mw I know once attended a hotel birth and the police were called because the hotel managers heard the noise and thought the mw was performing an abortion :

[momileigh]

Wow, weird... if I heard screaming (or whatever) coming from a hotel room, "abortion" would not come immediately to mind... do you know the rest of the story??

[Maggi315]

I have been asked to deliver at a hotel, but I won't do it. What if something went wrong? noisy? fire alarm pulled? police called? transport needed? Plus, hotels are so dirty, yuck! At the least, have them rent the place in their names and keep yours out of it.

I have delivered at my home, though. And I know people who offer them homes and then if someone "accidentally" delivers, no one needs to know.
And there are lots of midwives who have had accidental deliveries at their offices. Just don't go around advertising the option, only bring it up if someone doesn't have aplace to deliver that's safe.

[Charmie981]

As far as dirt, can it really be much dirtier than a hospital?!

I agree...plan to bring bedding and something to waterproof the bed. Clean the tub and toilet before mom gets in/uses it, and bring "contractor bags" for linens and trash.

Sometimes there's really not any other option. I understand where you're coming from as far as the border and legality. If you want to talk more about it, PM me .

[Jane]

I think I would want to do a 2 hour clean before I wanted someone to get naked in the room the way mamas get naked. That would give me time to do an antimicrobial soaking in the tub - completely filled with water, jets running with quaternary ammonia in the water. Then more time to completely rinse that.
I'd probably want to bring some rugs that I knew were clean. That would be one more layer underneath some waterproofing pads.

I'd be way easier to do it in a home. The cleaning could be done ahead of time instead of waiting until labor was beginning to happen, then renting a room, then cleaning.

[Rockies5]

Not a midwife, don't attend births....but I've had homebirths myself and my mw seems to bring alot of clanking equiptment and big bags. The bags *could* be luggage....

I don't imagine a clanestine way to roll several oxygen tanks by the front desk

[the elyse]

:

[natbab]

All good ideas, suggestions... WoW!
I know a mom who delivered in a hotel, and a friend of mine attended. Apparently, the staff knew and were like - any "unusual mess" (Whay exactly that does that mean?! LOL) will be charged to the credit card you gave us. And that was that.

My immediate thought is... How could a mom give birth normally in a place like a hotel? I would have such a hard time letting go and letting the process happen, because I would be in fear of intrusion or "being discovered" the entire time.

Chris Anne Johnson

[2bluefish]

Not a birth professional, but rugs are a good idea. We just stayed at a really nice hotel. And our baby was a crawler and we couldn't keep him up on the beds, he wanted down, so finally I let him crawl on the carpet and *his knees were black when I picked him up again!* We were shocked; the place seemed perfectly clean!

[momileigh]

I think the "unusual mess" they are afraid of is pretty obvious... a mattress soaked with fluid, a nice placenta sitting in the toilet, blood anywhere... nothing any decent person would leave behind if they could help it.

I don't know about a 2-hour clean or rugs... maybe I'm nuts but that seems like overkill. Maybe its lack of experience but in the 100+ births I've seen no one was crawling around on the floor. (Cleaning the toilet and tub would be a must of course.)

Interesting point about the "fear factor" of being discovered. I could really see that spiking the adrenaline, now that I think about it. Of course, I'd much rather give birth in a hotel than a hospital. At least at the hotel, if someone discovers you and gets mad, they won't try to cut you in any way.

So to the mw's who have done births in their homes or offices (which are not licensed birth centers) what is the legal angle on that where you are? I realize its not the kind of thing that you're likely to get carted off for, but I'd like to know. PM me if you don't want to say in public.

[2bluefish]

Originally Posted by momileigh

Maybe its lack of experience but in the 100+ births I've seen no one was crawling around on the floor.

Really?! That surprises me - cause I have crawled at both my births! I thought it was normal :

[mwherbs]

so outside a tub the floor is the most common place that women give birth when I am attending- not many women get in bed unless someone suggests it and we don't-- so most of the time mom is up and around where ever she feels most comfortable- and I have seen plenty of crawling around hands and knees on the floor--

[momileigh]

Weeeeell.... I suppose it may have something to do with the hard, cold, ceramic tile at the birth center where I've seen all but 3 of those births.

Hmmmmm

(Yes, I need to get out more.)