FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – While the move towards home birth is rising nationwide, as well as 25% in Florida during the pandemic, there are risks to the practice.
That concern is motivating some hospitals to create that “at home” experience in a safe setting.
When Veronica Flores started planning for the birth of her second child, she had a clear vision of how she wanted it to be: more personal and peaceful than the first time around.
“There were so many lights and buttons and people in the first birth that it felt like it was just way too many, too much,” Flores said.
But she also wanted to be in a safe environment.
“You never know what’s going to happen, so being in the hospital, we’re prepared for any urgent emergency,” said Dr. Delis Skeete Henry, an OB-GYN with Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale.
Flores agreed.
“I wanted access to the NICU, I wanted access to emergency care if I needed it, and I definitely wanted access to somebody who could take care of me for the next 24 hours,” she said.
Flores found the best of both worlds at the hospital’s new birthing room, which included a tub for expectant moms like Flores who want a water birth.
“It really was like I was in my own bedroom. It was a nice queen size bed with like 20 pillows and there was no beeping, there were no bright lights. It was just very comfortable,” she said.
On Sept. 10, 2021, Flores gave birth there to her daughter Rina with a close knit team by her side, including her husband, midwife, a nurse and her Doula Martha Lerner.
“I’m super excited because now more women are going to be able to do this,” Lerner said.
Throughout her labor and delivery, Flores felt empowered and protected.
“It was so great and it was everything I wanted, that I didn’t know I wanted, and it was really the best experience I probably could have asked for and it came out better than I imagined,” she said.
Broward Health Medical Center’s home birthing room option is limited to women identified as having low risk pregnancies.