The Casa Laietània birthing centre offers a maternity care model focused on women and families, guaranteeing respectful and safe care throughout the pregnancy, birth and postpartum period for pregnant women with uncomplicated pregnancies.
Casa Laietània is a private space, similar to being at home, but with the reassurance of being located in a high-level hospital, like Germans Trias Hospital. In this birthing centre, the leading professional is an expert midwife. She supports pregnant women throughout the entire process and helps them to make decisions during the birth.
Who can use it?
The birthing centre is perfect for you if you are having an uncomplicated pregnancy and are anticipating a low-risk labour and birth. Some aspects to take into account are:
- You must be having only one baby and it must be facing head down.
- There should be no health problems that would necessitate high-level technology for monitoring during labour.
- The labour must be spontaneous and start between weeks 37 and 41 + 6 days.
- You must have decided beforehand not to use epidural analgesia during the labour.
- You must be willing to use different techniques to improve the natural and safe progression of labour and birth and for pain relief.
If you meet all of these requirements, the various sexual and reproductive health clinics that form part of the Gynaecology and Obstetrics Clinical Directorate of the Metropolitan North health region will offer you the possibility of delivering your baby at Casa Laietània. You will be monitored in the same way as for all low-risk pregnancies, but visits will be added so that you can get to know the birthing centre.
If you do not meet all these criteria, but you still want a natural birth, at the Germans Trias Hospital we also have a natural childbirth room in the general delivery area.
Why choose Casa Laietània?
This birthing centre provides a relaxed and welcoming environment designed especially for natural labour and birth, with the support of the Obstetrics and Neonatology Service team in the delivery room, should the need arise.
The experience of centres like this in northern Europe has shown that this model of care for labour and birth:
- Increases the likelihood of vaginal birth and reduces the incidence of assisted births and caesarean section.
- Decreases the need for epidural analgesia, the rate of episiotomies, and the incidence of preterm births.
- Increases the likelihood that the pregnant woman will be attended by a midwife she knows.
Space and facilities
The Casa Laietània Birthing Centre is located on the ground floor of the Maternity building at Germans Trias Hospital, easily accessible from the Emergency Maternity entrance, next to the delivery room, where the on-call Obstetrics and Gynaecology team is available in case of need, as well as the Neonatology and Anaesthesiology team.
The centre is open every day of the year, 24 hours a day. You can contact us by email at: centredenaixements.germanstrias@gencat.cat.
Casa Laietània has been designed to be a comfortable, private and welcoming space. Its facilities include:
- Two rooms with a bathroom.
- A birthing tub and a large shower.
- A double bed to rest on or use during childbirth or afterwards.
- Fridge, microwave and utensils for making tea and coffee.
- Mattresses, lianas and balls.
- An area with grab bars.
In addition, the birthing centre encourages mobility and provides privacy during labour and afterwards. That is why it has:
- Furniture at different heights to encourage postural freedom.
- Floors that you can sit on, with mats and postural support elements (balls, stools, etc.).
- Natural light, as well as the possibility of half-lighting and dimming.
- Furniture that you can curl up on.
- Furniture that allows your partner to support you and keep you company in a private space.
- Furniture that facilitates exploration of the pregnant woman with the least possible exposure.
- Elements that are personalised according to cultural aspects or personal taste (smells, music, etc.).
The day of the birth
Labour and birth are unique and transforming life experiences. On the day of the birth you and the person accompanying you will be welcomed, supported and attended by the midwife on duty at the birthing centre. If you have other children, they will also be able to come to the centre, especially once you have given birth, as long as there is someone who can take care of them.Casa Laietània has a play area and child-friendly furniture.
During childbirth, the birthing centre offers pain relief including breathing and relaxation techniques; movement with balls, mats or lianas; hydrotherapy; hypnotherapy; entonox, a mixture of oxygen and nitrous oxide which is used as an analgesic inhaled through a mask or pipette; massage; and a TENS machine. However, if you need or want epidural analgesia, you will be transferred to the delivery room, where you will be attended by the obstetric and anaesthesiology team.
The birth will be attended by the midwives on duty at the birthing centre.
The first hours after the birth are a very special time when mother and baby get to know each other The newborn starts its life outside the womb, the first skin-to-skin contact with the mother is established and breastfeeding begins.
After a natural delivery and a birth where both mother and baby are physically and emotionally well, the midwife will continue to provide support in the birthing centre. You will be discharged to go home within 6 to 12 hours after the birth, directly from the birthing centre, unless there is a reason to stay in the hospital.
Midwives are trained to provide care during the postpartum period, and can look after the baby up to its 28th day of life. It is therefore the midwife who will take care of the baby until it is either discharged to go home or admitted to the maternity ward.
Although discharge does not require hospital admission and therefore you can be sent home within 12 hours, it is important to arrive at the birthing centre with a layette.
After being discharged, the midwifery team will continue to provide support for the newborn at home.The first visit to the centre will be within 24 hours of the birth, either by the birth centre team or a midwife from your sexual and reproductive health clinic.
Safety and well-being
A midwife will support you throughout the birthing process at Casa Laietània. The space is equipped with features for your safety and comfort:
- Elements for monitoring foetal and maternal well-being.
- Safety elements such as a doppler for listening to the foetal heartbeat during labour, support material for the neonatal transition and for monitoring your vital signs, among other things.
- Material to assist in checking the perineum.
- Support equipment for neonatal resuscitation (emergency activation elements and material for dealing with emergencies).
- Room and birthing tub water temperature control.
Generally speaking, midwife-supported natural births that begin spontaneously and proceed without medical assistance have a very low complication rate. Even so, some pregnant women may need to be assisted by the medical team in the conventional delivery room attached to the birthing centre. In these cases, the women are referred to the delivery room where they are received and attended by the midwives as well as the gynaecology and obstetrics staff on duty. As these two areas are adjacent to one another, the transfer is easy and almost immediate.
Similarly, if the baby needs paediatric care, the neonatology team is on hand to provide support.