You’ll make plenty of decisions during pregnancy, and choosing whether to give birth in a hospital or a birth center is an important one.

Traditional hospital births are still the most common option. This means the mother-to-be moves from a labor room to a delivery room and then, after the birth, to a semiprivate room.

In a hospital birth:
· Pain medicines are available during labor and delivery if a woman wants them.
· Labor can be induced, if necessary.
· The baby is usually electronically monitored throughout the labor.

Doctors “manage” the delivery with their patients. A birth plan can help a woman communicate her preferences, and her doctor will abide by these as much possible.

Many hospitals now offer more options for low-risk births, often known as family-centered care. These may include private rooms with baths (called birthing suites) where women can labor, deliver, and recover in one place without having to be moved.

A doctor and medical staff are still on hand. But the rooms create a nurturing environment, with warm, soothing colors and features that try to simulate a home-like atmosphere that can be very comforting for new moms. Rooming-in — when the baby stays with the mother most of the time instead of in the infant nursery — also is more common.

Many hospitals offer childbirth and prenatal education classes to prepare parents for childbirth and parenting classes for after the birth.

How many people may attend the birth varies from hospital to hospital. In more traditional settings, the limit might be three support people during vaginal birth. In a family-centered setting, more family members, friends, and sometimes even kids might be allowed. During a routine or nonemergency C-section, usually, just one support person is allowed.

A variety of health professionals oversee hospital births:

Obstetrician/gynecologists (OB/GYNs) are doctors with at least 4 more years of training after medical school in women’s health and reproduction, including both surgical and medical care. They can handle complicated pregnancies and also do C-sections.

Look for obstetricians who are board-certified, meaning they have passed an examination by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG). Board-certified obstetricians who go on to receive further training in high-risk pregnancies are called maternal-fetal specialists or perinatologists.

If you deliver in a hospital, you also might be able to use a certified nurse-midwife (CNM). CNMs are registered nurses who have a graduate degree in midwifery, meaning they’re trained to handle low-risk pregnancies and deliveries. Most CNMs deliver babies in hospitals or birth centers, although some do home births.

Registered nurses (RNs) attend births to take care of the mother and baby. If you give birth in a teaching hospital, medical students or residents might attend the birth. Some family doctors also offer prenatal care and deliver babies.

Anesthesia, if needed, will be administered by an anesthesiologist. A variety of pain-control measures — including pain medicine and local, epidural, and general anesthesia — are available in the hospital setting.