Childbirth Options
Supporting your labor and birth goals.
SSM Health offers a variety of options during labor in an environment designed to meet your choices and the vision you have for your labor and birth. Talk to your care team about the low intervention options available at your hospital.
- Natural (unmedicated) birth - If you choose a natural birth, we have low intervention options to make your delivery as smooth and comfortable as possible.
- Cesarean (C-section) - During C-sections, babies are delivered through a surgical incision in the mother’s abdominal wall.
- Vaginal birth after C-section (VBAC) - For some women our physicians can provide vaginal birth after C-section (VBAC) if it is safe for both mom and baby.
- Wireless fetal monitoring - A low-risk, laboring mom is not always confined to the bed. When appropriate, mom can wear a wireless fetal monitor or an intermittent monitor so she can walk around, try standing positions or even labor in a special laboring tub, or the shower or jetted tub in her room.
- Midwifery care - Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs) are women’s health providers with advanced education and training in midwifery and advanced practice nursing. Learn more about midwifery.
- Birth doula support - Doulas are trained individuals who offer emotional and physical support to a woman and her partner before, during and after childbirth. Learn more about using doula support during birth.
What are my pain management options during labor?
Options for pain management include having an epidural or using patient-controlled Nitrous Oxide. Pain medications will be available to you throughout your delivery. We encourage you to speak with your physician about the best method for your child’s birth in advance.
What happens if there is an emergency during delivery?
In the case of an emergency, our physicians are well prepared for Cesarean (C-section) births. Cesareans are performed only when vaginal delivery is not possible or when there is a concern for the well-being of mom or baby. Some reasons that a baby might need to be born using a C-section include:
- Fetal distress: when the monitor shows that your baby is not tolerating labor as well as expected
- Abnormal presentations: example, breech birth
What else should I know about birthing options at SSM Health?
We offer delayed umbilical cord clamping at delivery.
Delayed umbilical cord clamping at delivery has been shown to reduce anemia in infants. Ask your doctor if this is an option for you.
We give mother and baby skin-to-skin time.
SSM Health promotes mother and baby skin-to-skin initiation within 5 minutes of birth and maintained for the first hour, including cesarean-section births. Benefits of skin-to-skin contact include:
- Contributes to successful newborn transition to extra uterine life
- Improves infant temperature regulation, blood sugar and promotes successful breastfeeding
- Calms both mother and baby