Maternity centers are also called birthing centers, and they are more popular in America than ever before, according to Healthline. They are places where healthy women with low-risk pregnancies and/or women who have given birth before without complications go to deliver their infants. If you’re interested in helping women deliver their babies, and you have the right credentials and experience, this type of health care business venture may be right for you. When it comes to setting up this type of business, there is a lot to think about, including qualifications, insurance and location.
Make sure you have the right qualifications
Usually, medical doctors or nurses with years of specialized midwifery experience open these types of clinics. If you have one of these credentials, you may be a good candidate. In order to run a birthing center, it is important to be a healthcare leader that parents-to-be can trust. If you don’t have formal qualifications in the health care industry, you may want to open a Doula center instead. Doulas assist pregnant women during pregnancy and/or delivery, and they offer emotional support and guidance, rather than acting as doctors, midwives, or nurses. Doulas generally have a lot of experience assisting women in childbirth, but they may lack degrees in the healthcare field. They are trained companions rather than health care professionals.
Don’t forget about insurance
Birthing centers need the right insurance, including worker’s compensation insurance and medical malpractice insurance. Without worker’s compensation insurance, a maternity center staff member who gets injured on the job won’t have lost wages and medical expenses covered, and this form of healthcare business insurance may vary based on specialty and state. Medical malpractice insurance is also important. With medical malpractice insurance, policies are in force to cover negligence complaints that lead to the injury or fatality of patients.
Insurance is extremely important. Look for comprehensive coverage that you won’t let you down when you need it most. Without insurance, workers who are injured on the job may sue, or patients may file lawsuits that destroy a healthcare business. For this reason, finding good insurance from a reputable insurance firm should be priority one.
Find the right maternity center location
To succeed in this competitive niche, you will need to find a location that is convenient for your target demographic. The location might be urban, suburban or rural. You’ll need to research the local birthing center market to see which part of a city, town or rural area has the highest need for this type of health care business. Once you’ve done your research, start to consider cost, layout and other practical factors.
Offer a homey atmosphere
The best birthing centers provide a homey atmosphere to women in labor. For example, these centers offer private rooms that are fancier and more comfortable than most hospital rooms. In a birthing center, a woman may have the option of relaxing on a large bed, surrounded by soothing lighting, and amenities, such as showers, Jacuzzi baths, and TVs. A woman will also be able to enjoy a degree of freedom during labor that isn’t possible in a hospital. In hospitals, women can’t eat or drink after a certain point in labor. In a birthing center, these rules are usually relaxed. Women come to birthing centers so they can have their babies in homelike atmospheres. As a birthing center owner/operator, you will need to create the right ambiance in order to make the birthing center a success.
Provide props women can use during labor
Aside from well-appointed birthing center rooms, you should take care to offer the most useful labor props to women. Birthing balls are one example. Birthing peanuts (therapy balls with peanut shapes) and birthing stools are other popular labor props that should be available in birthing rooms. At many birthing centers, women don’t get epidurals, so they need props that help them to manage pain during labor.
Market the new birthing center
Whether the new birthing center is affiliated with a hospital or independent, it will need to be marketed so women can learn about it. While marketing the birthing center, focus on its amenities, such as single rooms for budget-conscious clients and larger suites for clients with more money to spend, which come with ensuite bathrooms. If surgical services, such as C-sections, are available onsite, this is an important fact that should be featured prominently in all marketing materials. Any pain relief options that are available, such as anesthesia options, should also be advertised.
Now is the right time to take advantage of the growing popularity of maternity centers. Now that you know some important facts, you’ll be ready to decide if this type of business venture makes sense. Maternity centers offer women an alternative to hospital births, and many women are making the choice to have their babies in maternity centers.