Why Choose a Birth Center?

Comfort and Support
From research we know that a women’s feeling of safety, comfort and support during pregnancy, labor and birth contributes significantly to her ability to give birth naturally, and to move confidently into parenting her child. The Monadnock Birth Center and our program of services are carefully designed to enhance your comfort and to support and foster the natural birth experience that many women and families desire.

Qualified Facility/Midwives and Safety
At the Monadnock Birth Center, you receive care from highly-trained, experienced, nationally-certified, and state-licensed Certified Professional Midwives. The Birth Center facility is licensed by the NH Department of Health. Mary Lawlor, the Birth Center owner and clinical director, has 29 years of experience serving area families. A growing body of national and international research demonstrates that the choice of out- of-hospital birth with a qualified midwife is a safe option for a healthy pregnant woman.

Personal Care and Attention
At the Birth Center, you will receive the highest-quality personal, individualized midwifery care, and the opportunity to give birth in a way that reflects your values, choices and desires for yourself and your family. Your care will be a partnership between you and your midwives, with respect for your intuition and knowledge of yourself as a basis for deciding what is right for yourself and your baby. Your midwives will spend time with you: hour-long prenatal visits, the continuous company of a midwife during your labor and birth, three home-visits in the first week of your new baby’s life, as well as visits for you and your baby at three and six weeks.

What women have to say about why to use the Monadnock Birth Center:

Relaxation

“I felt peaceful just walking into these rooms. The colors and design were so relaxing right away.”

“The atmosphere was so calming and Mary and Heather were fantastic and caring.”

“The birth center was quiet, clean, calm and a very positive environment for our birth"

“Birthing at the Center was truly a beautiful and unique experience. I’d be in the middle of a surge and out of the corner of my eye I’d see the smallest little detail of beauty that would captivate me and distract me from the surge I was experiencing.”

Support:

“I felt so welcomed and cared for. You will always have a place in our hearts!”

“I liked how loving, caring and nurturing the midwives were. They did not leave my side for a minute. I felt so loved.”

“Thank you so much for your care and support. I couldn’t have had a better birth.”

Home-like Comfort:

“We couldn’t have asked for a more comfortable place to have our child. It was extremely relaxing and a perfect place to experience a miracle! We feel so blessed to have had you and the center available for the birth of our child.”

“The supportive staff and home-like atmosphere were wonderful. We were made to feel so comfortable.”

Time and Attention:

“We appreciated the long appointments and opportunity to ask all of our questions and really talk about pregnancy and the birth process.”

“I especially felt relaxed and great about the prenatal appointments. It was very important for me to have a choice in pregnancy care and for my birth.”

“The individualized care was unparalleled in comparison to my previous experience in a hospital setting.”

Coalition for Improved Maternity Services (CIMS):
“A woman’s confidence and ability to give birth and to care for her baby are enhanced or diminished by every person who gives her care, and by the environment in which she gives birth...Every women should have the opportunity to...give birth as she wishes in an environment in which she feels nurtured and secure, and her emotional well-being, privacy, and personal preferences are respected.”   www.motherfriendly.org