Childbirth Options: What’s Best?

Actors Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise were said to have chosen a "silent birth," while model Cindy Crawford and actress Demi Moore had home births.

Indeed, if celebrity headlines are any indication, the quiet and relaxation of alternative childbirth methods are slowly replacing the bright lights of the delivery room.

"If you are a normal, healthy woman with a normal, healthy pregnancy, and you have qualified people to assist you, there is no longer any reason you have to give birth in a hospital," says nurse-midwife Susan Stapleton, CNM, spokeswoman for the American Association of Birth Centers.

And if you're looking to be a bit creative in handling either your labor pain or the childbirth experience itself, then a traditional hospital setting may not be the ideal setting at all. 

"There is no question that once you enter a hospital to have your baby you become, at least in part, a captive to their system. So if you want to do things in a certain way, you are more likely to run into some resistance," says Howard Minkoff, MD, chairman of obstetrics & gynecology at Maimonides Medical Center in New York City.

At the same time, not every birthing alternative is right for every woman. And for some, a hospital is the best and safest place to give birth. To help you narrow down your choices, WebMD went to the experts to learn just what each alternative location and method has to offer.

Birthing Centers

If the home-like atmosphere of a bed and breakfast gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling, if you crave autonomy and freedom to experience labor in your own way, then a freestanding birth center might be the place for you.

"Many women choose a birthing center not just because of the home-like atmosphere, but because of the philosophy, which is that women inherently know what to do to deliver a baby. The policy of the birthing center is not to get in the way," says Ann Fulcher, a certified labor coach instructor and team member of the Birthing Center at the University of California, San Diego Medical Center.

Certified nurse-midwives rather than obstetricians usually run birth centers, but that can definitely work to your advantage. In one study that compared deliveries by both midwives and obstetricians, researchers found significantly less fetal distress, meconium staining, postpartum hemorrhage, birth injuries, and less need to use resuscitation in the deliveries, as well as fewer medical interventions, when the delivery was done by a midwife. 

While birthing centers are fully equipped with a variety of medications, IVs, oxygen, and if your baby needs it, resuscitation equipment, you won't find any electronic fetal monitoring equipment, epidurals, labor induction devices, or drugs. And no cesarean deliveries.

"A birthing center offers a natural birthing process, as close to a home birth as you can find," says Fulcher. 

One downside to consider: You'll be discharged right after your birth, with the longest stay being just 12 hours.

According to Singleton, the best candidates for freestanding birth centers are healthy moms with low-risk pregnancies and healthy babies.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) says make certain your birthing center is accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, The Joint Commission, or the American Association of Birth Centers.