And there is a greater chance that drugs will be administered in a hospital birth and there are no drugs thought to be safe for a fetus. Home births are always unmedicated so the risk is eliminated for the mother or child. In her earlier research, Turkel followed the establishment of the Nurse-Midwifery Birthing Center, which in l986 became the Birth Center of Delaware. Sometimes they are people who don't like hospitals, sometimes they are people who lack health insurance and can cut their bills in half by using the center. Birth centers are becoming increasingly popular because of their cost cutting-factor and also because of the added individualized attention the women clients receive.
Birth centers pay a lot of attention to women.
There are no fetal monitors and no restrictions on movement. Blood pressure and fetal heartbeat are monitored, and there are provisions for emergency transportation to a hospital if needed. In Delaware, as in many states, in order for a nurse-midwife to practice she has to be aligned with a physician. The Birth Center is backed by a group of Wilmington doctors. It does not attend high-risk births.