The birthing center is fantastic! I wish all doctors' appointments and interactions with hospital…read morestaff left me feeling like I do when I go to the birthing center. The midwives and nurses are knowledgeable, compassionate, and very very good at what they do.
When I was deciding where to have my baby, I chose the birthing center because of the low intervention model (I usually get real anxious when it comes to hospitals and medical procedures), support for a non-medicated birth, and beneficial practices like delayed cord clamping, not washing baby right away, and skin-to-skin. It seemed very homey and calming and I liked that the birthing center was in the hospital (as opposed to a stand alone center), so if an emergency happened, I could get immediate care.
The center has four birthing suites: spring, summer, fall, and winter. You can pick which one you want; the layout and color themes are slightly different. However, every room has a shower, a tub you can labor in (though you can't do a water birth), a big bed where both you and your partner are encouraged to snuggle baby after the birth (I think it might be a queen), and various labor stuff (two different kinds of birthing balls, a rope thing hanging from the ceiling, etc.).
During birth they have nitrous oxide available for pain relief. You typically get to go home the day of the birth if everything checks out or you have the option of staying in a maternity recovery room upstairs.
I had a great experience with all my prenatal appointments and recently had my 6 week follow up. I never feel rushed; I feel heard and respected when I come with my long list of questions (it was my first pregnancy). You get to have appointments with each of the midwives throughout your pregnancy so that whenever you deliver, you'll already be familiar with whichever midwife is on call at the time.
So I ended up having my baby on the regular labor and delivery floor because we were high risk and the birthing center can only do low risk births (baby came early at 33 weeks). However, the midwife on call, Maria, still came to attend the birth. Her presence, support, and coaching were invaluable during labor! I wouldn't say I felt calm per se, but I definitely felt less stressed and more confident knowing she was there. I was still able to deliver baby vaginally and without pain medication, which I attribute in large part to Maria's support and the natural birthing class I took through the center.
If/when my spouse and I decide to have another baby, I would definitely choose the birthing center again (and hopefully be able to actually give birth there)!
Oh and one last thing, one of their staff is a certified lactation consultant, so you can ask Amanda any and all breastfeeding questions you have. She runs The Lactation Circle (TLC) every Thursday morning where you can come with your baby and do a weighted feed (so you know how much your baby is eating), get help with baby's latch, and just hang out with other moms and babies. It's another amazing support and resource the birthing center offers!