The Birthing Center

Thursday night proved to be a hectic one as we dashed from work to the hospital to make a 6:00 pm hospital tour. Philip and I met in the lobby of St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital, renowned as New York City's premier labor and delivery facility, along with several other expecting couples.

As we walked past the security desk, we had the privilege of speaking to a beautiful woman holding her one-day old child. In passing we congratulated her and she gave us a rave review of the Birthing Center. This mother of two beamed with delight as she spoke of the stellar service she received by the Birthing Center staff, and naturally, it aroused our curiosity of the place.

The informational meeting put us at ease and the tour reaffirmed our desires to choose the alternate birthing route. In short, there are two options at St. Luke's: (1) the usual labor and delivery ward with dim lighting and sterile atmosphere or (2) the hotel-like, peaceful rooms with hardwood floors and soft lighting. As we toured both floors, the guide explained the benefits and drawbacks of both floors and answered many questions that others had.

After two more information classes today, we feel most comfortable with the Birthing Center floor, or option 2 as mentioned above. Here's the link with more details, http://www.midwife-ny.com/center.html. Although the link says "midwife," some doctors have agreed to deliver babies on this floor, ours being one of them.