How to give birth in the Birth Centre
- Rosemary Scott
- Apr 14
- 2 min read
The sad reality is that preparing to give birth in the current maternity system carries a high chance of medicalised birth.
Meanwhile the majority of mums-to-be in my classes are aiming to give birth in the Birth Centre at their hospital.
But did you know that in March 2026 the proportions of baby's born in the Birth Centre at SASH Hospital was just 6.7% (East Surrey Hospital, UK). With a total of 341 babies born that month, just 23 babies born in the Birth Centre.
This is an all time low in my years of teaching, it has been steadily decline year on year.
So how can you improve your chances of being in the minority of birthing your baby in the Birth Centre (if there are no known medical reasons why it's not advised)?
1. Stay at home for as long as possible. Plan for this - have everything you need to support you. Make a plan with your birth partner and be clear about how they can support you. Set up the home to be conducive to physiological birth.
2. Book a birth doula! There is evidence that having a birth doula increases your chance of a positive birth experience as well as reducing the likelihood of intervention.
3. Inform yourself and work on advocating for yourself. Prepare for the inevitable offer of intervention and feel confident about declining it if it feels right for you.
Just a final point for you to consider though, if you really want to avoid unnecessary intervention, is to actually give birth at home! Avoiding the hospital altogether and having support from the Home Birth Team will drastically increase your chances of avoiding unnecessary intervention.
To support you I have put together a detailed Guide to Navigating the Maternity System. It includes questions to ask your midwife, decision making tools and a map of the antenatal appointments and milestones you'll experience.
I can also support you with 121 Antenatal Classes so do get in touch to find out more. Even if you've taken a group course, you may want to spend more time on key topics or work with me to feel empowered and get bespoke support well after your baby arrives. Get in touch to learn more.
Rose
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