Guide to Birth Settings Around Seattle

Since we got started on the topic of pregnancy and birth...

In 2006, I moved to Seattle 3 months pregnant. Being new to the area and feeling pressured to finding appropriate prenatal care, I quickly did some homework and then went with a midwifery practice in the Seattle area. My son was born early 2007 and I was left feeling that there was something to be desired by the care I received during my pregnancy, labor and birth of my son. I learned the hard way that the styles in midwifery practice, and obstretical practice differs widely from provider to provider. In my research and preparation for our next child, I knew I needed to educate myself better as a consumer. I found myself wishing that somewhere there existed the statistics of various practices as well as reviews of providers by women themselves to inform my choices.

Then I found that Seattle has an awesome resource for expectant families. Great Starts Birth and Family Education is a program operated by Parent Trust of Washington. Each year they publish a Guide to hospitals, birth centers and home birth midwives in King County which reports provider rates of procedures and evidence based care.*

The Guide is a useful tool in determining the level of care a family desires and includes descriptions of birth settings and the characteristics of types of providers, as well as a summary of research findings regarding safe and appropriate birth care. An innovative feature of the Guide is a quiz that assists families in determinging the type of care they value most: whether its heavily managed and directed, the comfort measures and pain relief offered and the style of practice, as well as worldviews regarding the process of birth.

The Guide also contains a directory to local birth providers that reflect the range of services available in the Seattle area.

Another resource to look forward to is the unveiling of the national Birth Survey being developed by the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services which will compile the intervention rates reported to the state Department of Health as well as collect information, ratings and reviews from mothers directly relating to the care they receive from area providers.

With the information provided by the Great Starts Guide and the Birth Survey, as well as word-of-mouth recommendations from friends, family and community members, pregnanct women in Seattle will be more equipped with the information for a safe and joyous birth experience.

*Rates are reported by the providers/facilities and the records they maintain independently.