West Suburban Alternative Birthing Center (Oak Park) [Midwife-Led Birth Center] - BirthGuide Chicago

West Suburban Alternative Birthing Center [Midwife-Led Birth Center]

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Address:
3 Erie Court
Oak Park, IL 60302
(888) 888-2872
MATERNITY SERVICE WEBSITE
Visit provider’s website/maternity service main page
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DELIVERY OPTIONS
  • Water birth
    i Water birth means delivering your baby in a tub. Some facilities offer tubs for labor only. Learn more about water birth here.
  • Breech trial of labor
    i If your baby is bottom first instead of head down as you approach your due date, providers that allow "breech trial of labor" may give you the opportunity to labor vaginally instead of automatically scheduling you for a cesarean birth.
  • VBAC trial of labor
    i If you had a prior c-section, some providers may give you the opportunity to begin labor and try to deliver vaginally, which is a trial of "vaginal birth after cesarean" or VBAC. Learn more about VBAC here.
  • VBA2+C trial of labor
    i If you've had more than one prior c-section, some providers may give you the opportunity to begin labor and try to delivery vaginally, which is a trial of vaginal birth after 2 or more cesareans or VBA2+C trial of labor. Learn more about VBAC here.
  • Vacuum or forceps delivery on site
    i Delivery option tooltip 5
  • C-section available on site
    i Delivery option tooltip 6
  • C-section team on site 24/7
    i Delivery option tooltip 7
  • In-unit C-sections
    i Family-centered or Gentle c-section means that your partner can be with you in the OR during your c-section and that your baby will be placed on your chest immediately after delivery for skin-to-skin contact. Some facilities also offer the option of a clear surgical drape, which allows you to see your baby being born; delayed cord clamping after delivery (at least one minute); unhurried delivery (see a video here); and a dedicated nurse who will support skin-to-skin contact throughout the post-delivery procedure.
  • Family-centered/gentle c-section
  • Family-centered c-section: clear drape available
  • Family-centered c-section: delayed cord clamping
  • Family-centered c-section: unhurried delivery from incision
  • Family-centered c-section: dedicated 1-to-1 nursing support

Total birthing pools available: 2

See comments

LABOR OPTIONS

In uncomplicated labor...

  • Moving throughout labor (e.g. wireless telemetry)
  • Intermittent electronic fetal monitoring
  • Intermittent auscultation
  • IV not required
  • IV not routine
  • Eating throughout labor - clear tray only
  • Eating throughout labor - unrestricted
  • Drinking throughout labor
  • Showering during labor
  • Laboring in a tub
  • Aromatherapy

Total labor pools available: 2

See comments

BIRTHING EQUIPMENT
  • Bean bag pillow
  • Birthing stool
  • Birth Balls
  • Peanut ball
  • Reclining chair
  • Rocking chair
  • Support rope, sling or bar

See comments

PAIN RELIEF
  • Epidural
  • Patient controlled epidural
  • Dedicated L&D anesthesiology team
  • Narcotics
  • Nitrous-oxide
  • TENS unit

See comments

SUPPORT
  • Partner/support person policies
  • allowed in triage
  • allowed in labor room
  • allowed in OR for C-section
  • allowed in postpartum
  • allowed in NICU
  • Bed available for support person
  • Doula policies
  • allowed in triage
  • allowed in labor room
  • allowed in OR for C-section
  • allowed in postpartum
  • allowed in NICU
  • Siblings allowed in labor

Number of support people allowed: 3

See comments

NEWBORN & POSTPARTUM CARE

After routine delivery...

  • Suctioning only if needed
  • Delayed cord clamping (at least 1 minute)
  • Delayed cord clamping (at least 3 minutes)
  • Delayed baby bath
  • Uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact until first feed
  • Baby rooming-in
  • Non-emergent nursery care available
  • All routine newborn exams at mother's bedside
  • Early discharge - 24 hours or less
  • Home postpartum visit

See comments

BREASTFEEDING
  • Baby-friendly designation
  • Lactation consultants (IBCLC) available for consultation on site
  • 24/7 lactation support on site
  • No formula given to breastfeeding babies in first 48 hours
  • Donor milk available

See comments

HIGH RISK OPTIONS
  • Maternal Fetal Medicine specialists
  • 24/7 Neonatalogist or Pediatric Hospitalist on site
  • Perinatal Level IIE
  • Perinatal Level III

See comments

NICU OPTIONS
  • Bed provided for parent
  • Kangaroo care supported
ROOM OPTIONS
  • One room for labor, birth, recovery & postpartum (LDRP)
  • One room for labor, birth & recovery (LDR)
  • Private post-partum rooms
  • In-room shower
  • In-room labor tub

See comments

ROOM AMENITIES
  • Dimmable lighting
  • CD player
  • DVD player
  • Music speakers (phone or IPod)
  • Television
  • WIFI
  • Free WIFI
  • Refrigerator
  • Microwave
INSURANCE

Accepts Medicaid : Yes

See Insurance comments for details

Languages - In-Person Interpretation

    See comments

    View options & amenities
    Address:
    3 Erie Court
    Oak Park, IL 60302
    (888) 888-2872
    MATERNITY SERVICE WEBSITE
    Visit provider’s website/maternity service main page

    Midwife-Led Birth Center

    Outcomes:

    Overall C-Section Rate (not risk-adjusted) - 14%

    As compared to Chicago-area hospitals, this rate is:
    Among the LOWEST
    low
    MEDIUM - LOW
    med-low
    MEDIUM - HIGH
    med-high
    Among the HIGHEST
    High

    Primary C-Section Rate (not risk-adjusted) - 10.5%

    As compared to Chicago-area hospitals, this rate is:
    Among the LOWEST
    low
    MEDIUM - LOW
    med-low
    MEDIUM - HIGH
    med-high
    Among the HIGHEST
    High

    VBAC Rate (risk adjusted) - 25.7%

    As compared to Chicago-area hospitals, this rate is:
    Among the HIGHEST
    High
    MEDIUM - HIGH
    med-high
    MEDIUM - LOW
    med-low
    Among the LOWEST
    low

    Exclusive Breastfeeding Rate - 48.6%

    As compared to Chicago-area hospitals, this rate is:
    Among the HIGHEST
    High
    MEDIUM - HIGH
    med-high
    MEDIUM - LOW
    med-low
    Among the LOWEST
    low
    • Number of VBAC deliveries per year- 43
    • Epidural Rate - 18%
    • Overall Induction Rate - 7%
    • Early Elective Deliveries - 0 %
    • Episiotomy Rate - 1%

    COMMENTS ON OUTCOMES

    Rates of all interventions in the Alternative Birthing Center (ABC) are low. The midwives are skilled at helping you to labor effectively and naturally by supporting physiologic birth and avoiding the use of unnecessary interventions.

    C-Section: Cesarean births are not performed in the ABC.  However, as an in-hospital birth center, a surgical suite is down the hall.

    The cesarean rates reported above reflect the number of mothers who began labor in the Alternative Birthing Center and ended up having a cesarean birth in the Irvin & Margaret Houck Family Birthplace. This rate is not risk-adjusted, and should not be directly compared to rates for Chicago-area hospitals. However, if you qualify for care and begin your labor in the ABC, the likelihood that you will have a cesarean birth is very low.

    VBAC: The combined VBAC success rate in the ABC and the Family Birthplace was 81% in 2017: 75 mothers tried for VBAC  and 61 succeeded.

    Breastfeeding rate:  This exclusive breastfeeding rate is for the ABC and the Family Birthplace combined.

    Epidural rate: Epidurals are not offered in the Alternative Birthing Center. If you decide in labor that you want to have an epidural, you will transfer down the hall to the Family Birth Place. The epidural rate reported above reflects the number of epidurals among mothers who begin labor in the Alternative Birthing Center and then transfer to a Labor and Delivery room and end up choosing an epidural.

    Episiotomy rate: Overall episiotomy rate is 1.6%. Excluding shoulder dystocias, the episiotomy rate in the ABC and Family Birthplace is .06%.

    Maternity Care Overview

    [from the provider’s website]

    [includes information from an interview with the Nurse Manager for the ABC and the Family Birth Place]

    “At the Alternative Birth Center, we put you in control of your birthing experience. We offer you a variety of choices to manage their delivery, including water for labor and birth.”

    “Midwife-attended birth: All births in the Alternative Birthing Center are attended by Certified Nurse Midwives who practice the midwifery model of care. If you hope to deliver naturally, we can help you to labor without intervention and birth your baby in a way that feels right to you.”

    Family-centered: “Many women prefer natural childbirth in the company of family. The Alternative Birthing Center provides families with the room and resources to create a welcoming, home-like setting for natural childbirth.”

    “Our two ABC rooms offer a comfortable, family-friendly setting to support women who are seeking a physiologic birth. Each spacious room has a homelike atmosphere, with a private labor / birth tub and a queen-sized bed where you and your partner and newborn can bond during the hours after birth. Each room also has a television, free wifi, a microwave and fridge for your convenience and that of your guests.”

    Water birth: “The Alternative Birthing Center is one of only a small number of facilities in the Chicago-area offering you the option to labor AND deliver your baby in water.”

    VBAC: “We are strongly supportive of mothers who want a VBAC and we have the expertise to help you achieve your goal.”

    Nitrous-oxide: “West Suburban Medical Center is proud to be one of the first hospitals in Chicagoland to offer nitrous-oxide to our patients! Nitrous oxide does not affect your baby. It is the only pain relief method used for labor that is cleared from the body through the lungs, so as soon as you pull the mask away, the nitrous effect is gone within a breath or two.”

    Visit provider’s website to learn more.

    INSURANCE

    Click here to see Insurance Accepted.

    For questions about insurance, call:

    Patient ​Acceptance ​Guidelines

    Risk guidelines for accepting patients

    The Alternative Birth Center is for women who are seeking and qualify for a no / low intervention birth. If you are planning to have an epidural, you will be cared for in a Labor and Delivery room.

    Common factors that might disqualify a patient from delivering in the ABC include gestation less than 37 weeks, babies who are small for gestational age, multiples, malpresentation (breech, transverse, etc), high blood pressure, uncontrolled gestational diabetes, very high body mass index, and so on.

    All mothers hoping to birth in the ABC are required to take attend the free orientation.

    Risk guidelines for VBAC

    Trial of labor may be an option for women who have had up to 2 previous c-sections, depending on type of incision, clinical history and provider discretion.

    TRANSFER OF CARE AND TRANSPORT

      West Suburban Medical Center provides comprehensive obstetrical care supported by additional neonatal expert care from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

      MATERNITY SERVICE TOURS

      A free orientation class is required for all mothers who want to give birth in the Alternative Birthing Center. The orientation is offered on Saturdays at 11 a.m. and Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. at the West Suburban Medical Center Labor & Delivery Classroom on the 6th floor in the hospital.

      Call 866.938.7256 to register.

      CHILDBIRTH CLASSES

      West Suburban Medical Center offers a number of classes for expectant and new families, including an orientation class for the Alternative Birthing Center, prepared childbirth classes for first-time and experienced mothers, pain management and breastfeeding classes. You can learn more about upcoming support groups, classes and other health events at West Suburban by clicking here and selecting “Maternity services” in the Class/Topic box.

      If you have any questions, call 866.938.7256.

      MATERNITY CARE CERTIFICATIONS & AWARDS

      West Suburban Medical Center has been recognized by the Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative for excellence in care for severe range hypertensive pregnant patients.

      EXTERNAL​ ​REVIEWS

      Last updated: June 4, 2024

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