Our services are designed to help your labor and delivery go well and to allow your baby to have the best possible start to life.

With the help of your childbirth team, you can deliver your baby in an environment that works for you. We provide special lighting, aromatherapy and music. To lessen the discomforts of labor, we offer a variety of pain control options, including:

• Birthing balls
• Nitrous oxide
• Patient-controlled epidural (you choose when you need an extra dose of pain relief)
• Walking
• Water immersion

The California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative has recognized us for our work to reduce the number of unnecessary cesarean sections. Our trial of labor after cesarean (TOLAC) and vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) services contribute to these efforts.

TOLAC is a planned attempt to labor after you’ve previously had a cesarean delivery but now desire a vaginal delivery. VBAC is a successful trial of labor that results in a vaginal birth.

TOLAC and VBAC come with risks and benefits. Your doctor will discuss these during your prenatal care to help you make the best choice for you and your family.

At the Childbirth Center, we provide registered nurse lactation consultants who are certified by the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners. They offer:

• Breastfeeding consultations
• Breastfeeding support groups
• Follow-up phone check-ins
• Outpatient visits after you leave the hospital to help you with any breastfeeding difficulties

We follow and teach the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.

We offer the only Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) on the North Coast. Staffed with specially trained health care professionals and offering advanced technology, the NICU provides your newborn with highly specialized care if the need arises.

Our NICU nurses have advanced training in neonatal resuscitation, stabilization and continued care for ill or premature babies.

We also participate in the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco Perinatal Outreach Program. Our partnership with UCSF provides:

• Around-the-clock clinical consultation with maternal-fetal medicine specialists and neonatologists
• Continuing education courses for our team
• Emergency response drills and simulations

Our team is made up of many specialists who focus on making things as easy for you as possible as you prepare to add a new member to your family’s team. It includes:

• Certified nurse-midwives
• Experienced obstetricians
• Registered nurses
• RN certified lactation consultants

We offer several services to help you prepare for the arrival of your little one and get your baby’s life started well.

Our Circle app is a free pregnancy and parenting app that provides useful health resources and tools as well as information on our classes and services. The app can be helpful from early pregnancy through your child’s teen years. It includes:

• A to-do checklist to guide you through every stage of pregnancy and parenthood
• Articles and tips on pregnancy, babies and parenting
• Information on classes, resources and support groups
• Tracking tools to monitor your pregnancy and your child’s vaccinations
• Weekly content throughout your pregnancy and baby’s first year

• Google Play for Android
• iPhone

Twice each month we offer Childbirth Center orientation and childbirth preparation classes.

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