The Birth Center at PCC is now accepting patients for care with due dates October 1, 2024 and beyond. In addition, waterbirth, doula care, and a hospital birth center option are available for patients seeking birth center care with our midwives. The Family Birthplace at West Suburban Medical Center is available for Midwifery patients at PCC
For more information about this option, waterbirth, or doula care through PCC, please contact Mary Sommers, Director of Maternal Child Programs & Birth Center at (708) 386-0845 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
PCC wants to make sure that the birth center is a safe place for you to deliver your baby. When you first begin care at PCC, a midwife or doctor will take a detailed health history to make sure that you can register for care at the birth center. Once you start to have prenatal appointments with a birth center midwife, she will continue to review your health and the health of your growing baby.
Some examples of health-related requirements* include, but are not limited to:
- Staying in overall good health and regularly going to prenatal appointments
- Taking good care of yourself by eating healthy food and staying physically active
- Not smoking, or quitting during pregnancy by 20 weeks gestation
- Measurement and ultrasounds indicating normal growth and development for the baby
- Baby born at full-term, between 37 - 42 weeks gestation
- Baby born with its head down (vertex)
- No previous cesarean births**
- Reassuring blood pressure throughout pregnancy and in labor
- Absence of gestational diabetes or gestational diabetes that can be controlled with diet changes
- Reassuring blood iron levels at the time of delivery
- Absence of significant diseases, such as, but not limited to heart disease, active or chronic liver disease, or current drug or alcohol dependence
Other Requirements
Some other requirements to deliver in the birth center are:
- Interest in birthing out of the hospital without use of pain medication
- Completed tour of the birth center with orientation
- Completed childbirth education classes at PCC
- Signed a consent form to deliver in the out-of-hospital setting
- Secured a newborn car seat that is available to take baby home after the birth
- Agree to follow state laws regarding eye prophylaxis, vitamin K administration, and newborn genetic screening, or willing to sign appropriate waivers
- Prepared to care for your baby at home soon after the birth
- Decided on a pediatrician or other primary care provider
- Agree to attend a clinic visit 3-4 days after birth and 4-6 weeks after birth
- Discussed your decision to deliver at the birth center with those who will be present during the birth and make sure all guests are supportive of the decision
Insurance and Payment
The Birth Center at PCC and its midwives are in-network with many Medicaid Managed Care plans. Coverage with other Medicaid plans and commercial PPO plans varies. Please call the Director of Clinical Operations at 708-386-0845, Ext. 1009 to discuss your plan. A sliding fee scale for those who qualify is available. We also offer financial counseling and assistance enrolling in Medicaid and Affordable Care Act insurance plans.
Continuous Care with PCC
If for any reason the Birth Center at PCC is no longer the best place for you to deliver your baby, you will continue to receive care at PCC. You may receive care from a hospital-based midwife in the Alternative Birthing Center at West Suburban Medical Center. These rooms have large beds, birthing tubs, and support natural births. You may also receive care from a PCC midwife or physician in the traditional labor & delivery rooms at West Suburban Medical Center where you can have a natural birth or may choose pain medication, such as an epidural. If a Cesarean birth is needed, PCC physicians can perform them in the hospital.
