We are not attending hospital births at this time.
Your Hospital Birth with Midwives
The Connecticut Childbirth & Women's Center is proud to be affiliated with Danbury Hospital, located at 24 Hospital Avenue in Danbury, Connecticut. The hospital is directly across the street from the Center, and therefore provides our patients with the peace of mind that, if necessary, emergency care is just a step away.
All of our midwives have privileges at Danbury Hospital and attend births there as the primary provider. Families may choose to birth at the hospital for a variety of reasons, including desire for epidural during labor or preference to stay overnight at the hospital after birth. For those families who prefer the Birth Center but are being transferred to the hospital during labor, your midwife will go with you and continue to provide your care at the hospital. Families having a hospital birth with a midwife still benefit from delayed cord-clamping, early skin-to-skin contact with your baby, and the midwife approach to your labor and birth.
Why choose Danbury Hospital?
Danbury Hospital is part of the Western Connecticut Health Network, the region’s premier patient-centered system of care dedicated to improving health and well-being in western Connecticut and adjacent areas of New York. Formed in 2010 by Danbury Hospital, New Milford Hospital and their affiliated organizations, this organized network of providers, services and locations brings together the best people, technology and processes to deliver the timely, convenient and appropriate care for each and every patient.
Danbury Hospital offers a well-respected program for Women's and Children's Services in which women of all ages have access to a full range of evidence-based services including obstetrics, gynecology, maternal-fetal medicine, infertility and reproductive endocrinology, urologic care, genetic counseling, oncology care, cardiovascular care and women’s imaging services.
For more information on Danbury Hospital's Women’s and Children’s Services, or to take a tour of their labor and delivery wing, you may contact them at 1-800-511-9971.
Midwifery care for your hospital birth includes:
The type of monitoring during your labor at the hospital will depend entirely on the circumstances of your labor and birth. When possible, we will use the same intermittent monitoring that we use at the Birth Center. If we are at the hospital for a higher risk situation, we also have the option of continuous monitoring when indicated. IV access may be desirable for some women, but is not a routine requirement. Hospital patients can utilize the jacuzzi tubs when possible, though Danbury Hospital does not allow water births. Nurses and residents will help us take care of you, with your midwife remaining your primary provider.
Danbury Hospital boasts a Doula Support Program, which you may choose to use while in labor. Their excellent doulas are always on call, and can come in to support you for your entire labor and afterwards if you desire. For more infomation about the doula program and the benefits they can provide, please call (203) 739-6932, and be sure read this great profile on the doula program.
Should you require pain management options, these are available in the hospital setting. The anesthesia staff is available 24/7 for epidural placement. IV medications are also an option. Danbury Hospital does not have nitrous oxide at this time, but it is available in our birth center.
Our collaborating physicians are from Women's Health Associates, providing the midwives with 24/7 coverage and support. An MD is always in-house for emergencies, though clients having hospital births will only meet the doctor and have her involvement if it is needed. We also consult with Maternal Fetal Medicine (MFM) at Danbury hospital during pregnancy and birth for higher risk clients.
If your last birth was by Cesarean section and you desire a vaginal birth this time, midwifery care will provide you with the support that you need. The midwives attend primary VBACs at Danbury Hospital, with an impressive success rate of over 85%. If you have already had a VBAC, you can choose to have subsequent VBACs at the birth center.
For those clients requiring a C-section, whether this is known during your pregnancy or only becomes apparent during your labor, one of the physicians from Women's Health Associates is always available to safely deliver your baby. Your midwife will go into the operating room with you to provide social support and to assist with early skin-to-skin contact with your baby and early breastfeeding. We are happy to provide prenatal care and postpartum follow-up for women who are planning a Caesarean birth.
Advanced newborn support is available if needed at our Level lllB Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Danbury Hospital boasts a brand new state-of-the-art NICU with private rooms to accommodate parents who wish to stay with their babies. The pediatric inpatient unit provides short-term and acute care. The Children’s Health and Wellness Center conveniently provides pediatric specialty services under one roof, including cardiology, endocrinology and diabetes, gastroenterology, genetics and metabolism, physical medicine and rehabilitation, and pulmonary
Risks and Complications in Pregnancy and Birth
While we understand that it is difficult to change your birth plan, it is important to consider the possibility of a hospital birth when risks become apparent.
Hospital Transfers
In the event that a hospital birth is necessary, we try to make the transition as smooth as possible. All midwives have privileges at Danbury Hospital, which is located directly across the street from the Birth Center.
Your care there is co-managed by your midwife and one of the physicians from Women's Health Associates. All procedures, tests and options will be discussed in detail with you and your family. We also work together with supportive residents and nursing staff at the hospital.
There are certain risks that can prevent you from giving birth at the Center and are best cared for in a hospital setting. Some of these risks include:
- Twins
- Breech presentation
- Labor before 37 weeks or after 42 weeks gestation
- Previous cesarean delivery without a subsequent VBAC
- Request for pain medication, such as an epidural
- GBS positive status and membranes ruptured (your water broke) for a prolonged period of time
- Certain medical conditions, including but not limited to insulin-dependent diabetes and high blood pressure
- Need for induction for medical indications
- Stalled labor
- Non-reassuring fetal status
- Additional risk factors that can arise during labor, which will be monitored by your midwife
Why do families love giving birth with our midwives at Danbury Hospital?
