News

Nonprofit aims to start birth center

By Bill Moss, Published: November 29, 2014

Given that the Asheville area is thought of as progressive, newcomers are sometimes surprised when they ask about the options for a non-hospital birth.
"Are you kidding me?" says Judy Major, describing the response of young moms. "There's no birthing center here? How is that possible?"
Chapel Hill has one and Greenville, S.C., is getting one, and 280 birthing centers exist across the country. A group made up of certified nurse midwives, nurse practitioners and labor coaches called doulas have formed a non-profit organization that they hope will result in a birthing center by mid-2015.
"Our home birth rate in the western part of the state is almost double what it is in the rest of the state and it's growing," says Judy Major, the chair of the WNC Birth Center Board of Directors. "This is a bridge between hospital and home. There's very little technology. It's kind of like home but it's next door to the hospital or certainly close and those midwives will have 24-7 physician backup."
The moms who want to use a birthing center don't see the need for a hospital.
"Why would I go to the one place in the community that houses the sickest people to have my healthy baby?" Major says of their philosophy. "The United States is unique in the industrial world in that regard." In other advanced countries, babies "are usually not born in a regular hospital."
The WNC Birth Center Board of Directors has formed a six-member steering committee that includes certified nurse midwife Martha Dysart of Hendersonville.
The organizers contacted around 30 midwives and physicians and got pledges for half the $25,000 in seed money. It needs to raise $12,500 by Nov. 30 to match the pledges.
The nonprofit group plans to buy or lease a building near Mission hospital. Major estimates the board will need to raise $500,000 before opening the doors; it has a projected annual operating budget of $750,000.
"Our next step is to work out the details of our capital campaign," she says.
The organizers expect that the birthing center will draw couples from a wide radius around Asheville including Hendersonville.
"We did an online survey and hands down a majority said they would travel an hour or more to get to a birthing center," she says. "Chapel Hill will tell you that people travel three to four hours to get to the birthing center."

'Normal pregnancies, normal births'

The birthing center plans to accept all mothers who want to have their babies outside the hospital and meet requirements that screen for health risks to the mother and baby.
"We like to say that certified nurse midwives are the specialists in normal pregnancy and normal births," says Major, who has a background in public health and has been a birth coach for 120 deliveries. "They know so well what's normal and what's not normal."
The center plans to accept Medicaid, private insurance and private pay on a sliding scale.
"Nobody's going to be excluded," Major says. "This is not going to be just for people that have extra money."
"Once we're off the ground, birth centers are self-sustaining financially," she adds. "We are not your typical nonprofit where we're going to have to constantly raise money. This is not going to be something (donors) are asked to commit to in the long haul." The initial fundraising "is to get our doors open."
The center would probably have three birthing rooms that look more like a bedroom at home than a hospital room, a large tub and private bath, plus offices, exam rooms, a kitchen and lounge area for family members, a patient waiting room and a classroom.
Moms often would not stay for more than six to eight hours after she delivers her baby. Cost would be $6,500 to $7,000 compared to $10,000 to $12,000 for a hospital birth, Major said.
The birthing center projects that it would have 150 births in its first year and 350 to 400 a year after four years. The center will offer prenatal care, birthing and post-partum care by nurse midwives, RNs and nurse practitioners.
"The stars are aligning, as they say," Major said. "Mission has told us that they want us to succeed, a number of doctors are very much supportive. ... Asheville in particular draws a lot of people who are interested in alternative health care. In fact, I think we have the highest rate of acupuncture and massage therapy. It tells you the population in this area is looking at alternatives."

For more information call 828.515.1609, email info@WNCbirthcenter.com or visit WNCbirthcenter.com.