BIRTH ATTENDANCE

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Our labour and birth support includes care during pregnancy, birth and, if necessary, the postnatal period.

We mainly offer births in our birthing centre. Our team occasionally offers home births by arrangement.

If you are interested in giving birth with us, please get in touch at any time: geburt@geburtundgesundheit.hamburg and please let us know the following in your email:

• Your name
• The calculated date
• How many children
• Your place of residence
• Your telephone number

The midwives from the obstetric team will contact you to arrange an appointment to get to know you.

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Birth support is the centrepiece of our birth centre activities.

During the birth, you will be accompanied by a trusted midwife from our team. You will also be accompanied by a second midwife and, if you wish, a midwifery student.

The preparation:

A personalised birth planning consultation takes place before the birth. In this discussion, we explain how births take place in our centre and you have the opportunity to express your expectations for your birth.

Start of birth:

The birth often begins with an initial phase (latency phase) before things really get going. This initial phase is characterised by the first contractions or a rupture of the membranes. The duration of the latency phase varies greatly from individual to individual.

You decide when you contact us for the first time. We are always available for you by phone or will come to your home - we decide together when you will come to the birth centre.

Whether alone, with your partner, sister, friends, siblings... You decide who comes to the birth centre with you.

The birth:

You should feel at home in the birth room: bring your music or meditation, hang up a string of lights, light a candle or open the windows, just as you need it.

Your midwife is with you at all times. We offer you an undisturbed space in which you can give birth at your own pace. In out-of-hospital births, there is as little external intervention as possible in the birth process and therefore no unnecessary interventions or time pressure. In general, we tend to stay in the background, but of course we provide tips, emotional support and encouragement as you need it. We adapt to your needs.

During the birth, we will be guided by the expectations you expressed in the previous birth planning consultation.

The need for painkillers is lower for out-of-hospital births than for hospital births. We have various options available to ease the pain. In addition to various upright birthing positions, we have heat applications, a pool, massages and holding handles, which are often found to be helpful. A Tens machine is also available. We do not have strong painkillers or epidural anaesthesia available at the birth centre.

During the birth we regularly listen to the baby's heartbeat, this can be done in any position and also in the water.

We ask for your consent before every procedure, explain exactly what we are doing and inform you of the consequences.

Whether standing, lying down or squatting, you will intuitively find the birthing position that is right for you.

Possible transfer to hospital:

If there are any abnormalities in the monitoring of you, your baby or in the course of the birth, a transfer to hospital may be necessary. This affects approximately 20-30% of births. An urgent transfer due to a potential emergency situation is very rare (about one in 100 births).

We will discuss the procedure and the various reasons for the transfer in detail during the antenatal consultation.

Your baby is here! The first hours after the birth:

The first minutes and hours directly after the birth are very important and should be allowed to pass undisturbed. While the birth is only complete when the placenta has also been fully delivered, this first special time is characterised by the uniqueness of the moments. The first look, possibly the first cry, “smelling” each other for the first time, skin to skin, connected by the umbilical cord.

We organise this time very quietly so that you can have an undisturbed bonding session. The umbilical cord is usually only cut after the placenta has been delivered. If you have a birth injury, we can treat this in the birthing centre.

The second midwife, who was present at the birth, leaves the room so that you have even more space for yourselves. This time belongs to you. The midwife looks after the placenta and otherwise stays in the background as much as possible.

The baby usually starts smacking and searching relatively quickly on its own and wants to breastfeed for the first time. Here, too, the midwife provides support but does not intervene without being asked. You can get to know each other at your own pace.

The baby's first examinations also take place in the birthing centre. The midwife carries out the first examination of the child, also known as U1, directly on your chest, stomach or in bed. The whole baby is looked at very closely, the fingers and toes are counted, the back is palpated and much more.

Once you have regained your strength after the birth, your circulation is stable and you have showered if necessary, you will make your way home to your own bed after about 3-4 hours and start the postnatal period at home. The first postnatal visit should then take place around 12 hours after the birth.

We always offer a debriefing after the birth to go through the documentation together and discuss any questions.