Bringing community birth back with North Alabama's first freestanding birth center.
our mission
Alabama Birth Center was created because we believe in making a safe space for families to welcome their new babies into the world. If you share this vision, help us make it a reality!
People who desire out of hospital births have few options. There is a growing demand for midwifery care; however, this care is not readily available for those with limited resources as these services are usually paid out-of-pocket. We seek to provide a safe, welcoming environment for all persons, and to remove the barriers that have led to midwifery based care becoming a service that is unavailable to low income families.
This center will be a resource for the community, providing lactation support, childbirth education, family centered prenatal care, and training opportunities for the next generation of providers.
our approach
to birth
We believe that midwifery care in a birth center offers a wonderful option for birthing families who would like a happy medium between hospital birth and home birth. Our center offers all the comforts of home while also being easily accessible to both Crestwood and Huntsville hospitals, where our Certified Nurse Midwives hold delivery privileges.
We will offer amenities such as birthing tubs, essential oil diffusers, wireless Bluetooth-equipped speakers, birth swings, and queen size beds.
We believe in giving birth back to families -- here you can birth your way, in comfort and safety.
"Birth is the epicenter of women's power."
- Ani diFranco
our founder
& owner
Alabama Birth Center builds upon the work of Dr Yashica Robinson, a board certified OBGYN who has provided reproductive healthcare in Alabama for over 14 years. Dr Robinson has passionately advocated for birth rights, offering birthing options that few other providers in Alabama offer to include VBA2C and vaginal breech birth. In 2020, Dr Robinson brought midwifery back into the hospital setting at Crestwood Medical Center after over a decade without CNMs attending births there.
This center was borne out of Dr Robinson’s passion to see the Alabama birth community thrive in a new way. Her heart is for the center to not only be accessible to privately insured families, but also to under-resourced families and those on Medicaid.
Alabama Birth Center will be one of only twelve black-owned birth centers that are open and operating in the United States.
Birth Center Timeline
This is the projected timeline for the phases of our center opening! We will update as needed, but are hopeful that the center will be 100% open and fully functioning in 2023.
Follow along on our journey!
Nurse Midwifery Prenatal Care Available
January 2022
The clinical portion of our birth center building will open in January 2022 for Phase 1! Midwifery prenatal care will be available in this space for families giving birth in 2022 who would like nurse midwifery care in the hospital setting.
Our CNM Katrina Dial has delivery privileges at both Crestwood and Huntsville Hospital.
Community Center Space Opens
Spring 2022
We are honored to have a space created and designed to nurture and build our community in north Alabama. The community space is within the birth center and is open to support groups, nonprofit events, prenatal yoga, childbirth education, and so much more.
Birthing Suites Complete!
2023-2024
Renovations will be fully completed on our beautiful birthing suites!
Birth in comfort in a home-like environment with all the things you'd need to have a safe and comfortable birth, including deep labor tubs, birthing stools, essential oil diffusers, Bose speakers, birth swings, and queen size beds.
SUPPORT OUR WORK
In 2020, we worked hard to raise funds from private supporters who were willing to loan the money to buy the birth center building. Now, we are asking our community to help us with renovating this space to make it a beautiful, comforting, safe space for birthing people in Alabama.
We can't do this alone! Join us on this journey to better maternity care through increased midwifery access in Alabama.
Ways to Support
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We are now a proud partner with Yellowhammer Fund, which is providing fiscal sponsorship to make donations to Alabama Birth Center tax deductible.
Checks can be made out to Yellowhammer Fund. Please include memo indicating your donation is earmarked for our birth center.
Mail all checks to:
Yellowhammer Fund
PO Box 610250
Birmingham, AL
If you do not need your donation to be tax-deductible, you can chip in to our GoFundMe campaign.
Why Midwifery Care?
What makes midwifery support so special
and why does Alabama need increased access to it?
Midwives are experts in normal birth and adept at ensuring excellent outcomes for birthers and infants.
For many pregnant people, care with a midwife allows them to birth their way, safely and naturally, supported by the people they love.
Midwife-led maternity care results in reduced infant and maternal mortality and morbidity, fewer medical interventions, decreased costs, and improved client satisfaction.
Numerous studies have shown that birthing with a midwife significantly decreases the need for cesarean delivery and risk of premature birth.
Midwives hold the key to optimal birthing practices and cesarean prevention.
Through midwifery care, midwives offer individualized, culturally appropriate, family-centered full-scope prenatal services, and continuous care and support during labor and birth.
Above information is taken from Midwives Alliance of North America.
BIRTH CENTER SERVICES
We look forward to serving our community in many different ways -- these are a few of the services we will begin by offering!
Water Birth
We will be the only birthing facility in north Alabama that supports not only water labor but also water birth! Deep soaking tubs are perfectly designed to facilitate water birth in comfort and safety. We will also have inflatable birth tubs available as an additional option for water birth.
Prenatal Care
Midwifery care offers a more in depth, relational approach to prenatal care. Not only do our midwives focus on keeping you and your baby safe through pregnancy and birth, but they also care about your emotional and mental health and wellbeing.
Midwifery Services
We not only offer prenatal and birth support, but our midwives also offer an array of other services including contraceptive counseling, annual wellness exams, and general gynecological concerns.
Childbirth Education
Our birth center hosts childbirth education courses, breastfeeding classes, and prenatal and postpartum support groups led by community doulas, lactation consultants, and perinatal experts.
Community Space
Our community space hosts nonprofit events, support groups, prenatal yoga, childbirth education, and more! We love our community and want to be a part of nurturing the birth community in north Alabama.
GET IN TOUCH
Alabama Birth Center
7105 Bailey Creek Cir SE
Suite C
Huntsville, AL 35802