Center For Natural Childbirth At Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer A “First” In Israel

The Center for Natural Childbirth is intended for healthy women experiencing a completely normal pregnancy; women who dream of natural birth without medication or medical intervention now can have a safe "at home" experience"

Giving birth at home is a pleasant and special experience but isn't safe either for the mother or child. Giving birth in the hospital is certainly not like home but it is much safer.

Sheba Medical Center is currently inaugurating the Natural Childbirth Center which combines the advantages of the atmosphere of a natural home delivery with a protected hospital environment. The new center is the only one of its kind in Israel.

Sheba Medical Center enables mothers to give birth in a calm, pleasant atmosphere surrounded by caring and supportive people and permits them to remain with their  babies for 4-6 hours after delivery. All this takes place under the personal supervision of a professional midwife whom the mother has met previously. The midwife has also undergone special training in caring for newborns and will treat her and her newborn until they are transferred to the obstetrics department or baby hotel, whatever is the preference of the mother..

The Center's rooms are styled to exude a home-like atmosphere. Each room has a garden and family room adjoining it. The Center is located outside the regular delivery room but there is a corridor connecting it to the delivery and operating rooms in the event that the delivery cannot progress naturally as planned.

The goal of the Center is to create a safe environment amid a sensitive and supportive atmosphere during labor and at the moment of birth.

The Center's service includes introductory meetings and orientation: Two personal meetings with one of the midwives of the Natural Childbirth Center who, together with the mother, will plan the birth and check the mother's eligibility; a group meeting with the Center's midwives to get acquainted; and the availability of telephone counseling prior to the birth.

Sheba delivers more than 10,000 babies a year.

Professor Eyal Schiff, Director of the Obstetrics/Gynecology Department at Sheba remarked that the new Natural Childbirth Center was conceived to provide maximum intimacy with a minimum amount of medical intervention in the childbirth process, one of the special times in a family's life. At the same time, it assures a level of security for mothers that any emergencies that may arise can be taken care of at the hospital adjacent to the Natural Childbirth Center."