Explore our Birth Center

Birth Centers are a special hybrid of maternity care. For some people, home birth is not the best option, but they also don’t want to birth in a hospital.

Freestanding birth centers offer a middle ground for families wanting autonomy. This is where they are supported and respected as well as safe and secure. We like to say “All the Warmth You Want, All the Safety Your Deserve”

Home-Like Environment: Birth centers are designed to feel warm and welcoming, often featuring private rooms, comfortable furnishings, and a calm atmosphere to help you feel at ease during labor and delivery.

Midwifery Care: At the heart of birth centers are skilled midwives who specialize in supporting natural childbirth. They provide personalized care, ensuring that each birthing person feels heard, respected, and empowered.

Low-Intervention Approach: Birth centers prioritize natural birthing processes and typically offer fewer medical interventions and more choices than hospitals. This means more freedom to move, eat, drink, and choose birthing positions that feel right for you.

Many families know they don’t want to use a hospital, but they aren’t comfortable with home birth. We have heard that some live far out of town, some live in apartments with paper-thin walls, some have small children or large pets, and some just have partners who aren’t sold on it! Birth centers offer a middle ground!

While birth centers focus on low-intervention births, they are fully equipped to handle emergencies. They have protocols in place and close relationships with nearby hospitals for quick transfers if needed.

Two big studies have proven the safety of birth centers in America, and our statistics at Embrace prove it, too! Birth centers are a fantastic option for healthy moms.

Unfortunately, the state of maternal healthcare in the US is pretty concerning. We’ve got way higher maternal mortality rates than most other developed countries, especially for Black and Indigenous moms. In 2022, the American maternal mortality rate was 32.9 per 100,000, more than double what it was 20 years ago.

What sets other countries apart? They prioritize midwives as the primary caregivers for maternity services and offer birth center and home birth options to all. If there is a transfer needed, midwife patients are welcomed into the hospital. (and due to our hard work and excellent reputation, we have created a transfer relationship that mirrors this model of care!)

Birth is as wild and unpredictable as life gets. We can’t promise you your dream birth-no one can. No one can know if you will birth quickly, slowly, or need to transfer.

Everything you, and we, do during your pregnancy is with the intention
of keeping your pregnancy and birth healthy and normal.

Sometimes babies get tired of labor and need additional monitoring. Sometimes labor goes on and on and on and an epidural is compassionate care when what we need to have a vaginal birth is a nap. (You are definitely superhuman, but we all have our limits!) We have an amazing relationship with Henrico Doctors Hospital, so for families who want or need a hospital for a non-urgent issue in labor, we call up our friends and make all the arrangements for a seamless transfer right into hospital midwifery care. They transfer you right back to us at discharge and we care for you and your baby, just like you wanted

You cannot have a safe out-of-hospital birth without good in-hospital options

Even with the best care, though, emergencies can and do happen. Embrace is located directly across the street from a fire station and EMS, and they are great for a fast ride with a bed! We have had multiple on-site training sessions so they know exactly what we need. In an emergency, our midwives would never leave your side until they handed you over to a doctor.

We are just 3 miles from Johnston Willis Hospital, which has on-site obstetricians and anesthesiologists, as well as a Level 3 NICU.
We never expect an emergency, but we always are ready for one.
Ask us more about our emergency protocols during your tour!