Maryland Birth Places & Choices Chart

See the amenities available at each birth place!

	Sibley	Howard	PG	Anne Arundel	GW	Special Beginnings	Bay Area	Walter Reed	Holy Cross	Medstar Washington	Home
Midwives for low risk	NO	YES	YES	NO	YES	YES	YES	DAY SHIFT ONLY	NO	YES	YES
Anest. on staff all times	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	NO	YES	YES	YES	NO
NICU	LEVEL II	LEVEL III	LEVEL III	LEVEL III B	LEVEL III	NO	@ AA	LEVEL III	LEVEL III	LEVEL III	NO
Helipad	NO	YES	YES	YES	NO	NO	@AA	YES	NO	YES	NO
VBAC	YES	YES	YES 90% w/ mwf	YES	YES	YES @ AA	YES @ AA	YES	MANY RULES	YES	SOME
Vaginal Breech Birth	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES!	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	SOME
Showers all rooms	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Tub/Pool (labor in)	SOME RMS	2	ONLY w/ mwf	SOME RMS	SOME RMS	YES	YES	NO	NO	1	YES
Waterbirth	NO	NO	ONLY w/ mwf	MUST REQST	YES	YES	YES	NO	NO	NO	YES
Photography OK for birth	NO	NO	NO	IF OK w/ prov.	IF OK w/ prov.	YES	YES	NO	IF OK w/ prov.	NO	YES
Skin-to-skin immediately	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES
Lactation consultant	YES	YES	YES	ON REQUEST	YES	ON REQUEST	ON REQUEST	ON REQUEST	YES	YES	NO
Rooming-in for baby	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	N/A	N/A	YES	YES	YES	YES
Partner rooming-in	NO (extra cost)	YES	CHAIR	YES	YES	N/A	N/A	YES	YES	YES	YES
Birth balls or stools	NO	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	YES	NO	YES
Visitors in L&D	NO LIMIT	NO LIMIT	3	4	5	NO LIMIT	NO LIMIT	NO LIMIT	4, ages 12+ only	5	NO LIMIT
Support people in OR	1	1 can req. +	1	1	1	N/A	N/A	1	1	1	N/A
Nitrus Oxide available	NO	NO	NO	NO	NO	YES	NO	NO	NO	YES	SOME
Placenta Release?	YES	Must take immed.	YES	YES	YES, w/ form	YES	YES	Discuss ahead of time	Must take immed.	YES, w/ form	N/A

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Though your own care provider matters the most, the birth place can also have a significant impact on how your birth turns out. Many hospitals have policies requiring certain interventions or prohibiting certain types of birth. Some hospitals ban VBAC or waterbirth, for example. It’s good to know what amenities your birth place has, and a quick overview of their culture.

To get a real idea of what it is like to birth there, though, you need to talk to a doula who regularly has clients there or a childbirth educator who knows the local birth scene. You can also know the right questions to ask on a tour and find out more yourself.

But again, the most important factor for getting the birth you want is picking your care provider (doctor/midwife). This person’s philosophy of birth, their cesarean rate, their respect for you and your wishes, and their policies about labor management make all the difference.

How nice they are, how funny they are, or how many babies of yours or your friend’s they successfully delivered has no bearing on this birth. And unless your doctor or midwife is willing to be on call and come in just for your birth, you are rolling the dice with all their partners. Do you trust everyone in the practice?

I put together this chart to help women and their supporters get a better idea about the nature of the birth places available to women in my area. If you need help picking a birth place, if you are having your first birth, or if you would like this birth to be different than last time, take a childbirth class!

If there is a local hospital you’d like to see included on the next iteration of this chart, feel free to contact me. If you notice something needs updating, let me know, thanks!