Abundant Life Women’s Care & Birth Center (ALWBC) will redefine healthcare’s approach to birthing and women’s wellness by launching its center as a mainstream healthcare delivery model for women.
ALWBC has 4 primary focuses:
- Women’s primary care
- Maternal care
- Birth
- Education
Our goal is to build sustainable, long-term programs that will increase the health of our rural community. Your donation will bring our facility to life.
ALWCBC will be a midwifery modeled birth and primary care center with strong hospital and physician partnerships that anchors a hub of ancillary services that support women’s wellness for pregnant and non-pregnant women. The focus of the midwifery-model of care in an accredited birth center is based on an evidenced-based, high standard of care where each client receives one-on-one attention from staff members.
This facility will not be part of a hospital but will be within a close proximity to the hospital to address emergency and delivery needs of the client.
ALWBC will be a free-standing center serving women of all socioeconomic backgrounds. We will provide maternity care to childbearing families not requiring hospitalization. Risk assessments will occur at each prenatal visit to ensure clients continue to be healthy enough for an out-of-hospital birth.
ALWCBC will offer a home-like atmosphere for maternity care, including prenatal, labor, delivery and postpartum care related to medically uncomplicated pregnancies. In the event that a client shows signs of a complicated pregnancy they will have signed paperwork that requires them to transfer to a medical facility.
ALWCBC believes that every woman deserves to be treated with dignity and respect and we wish to be a place where you will feel comfortable, heard and be given quality care.
The American Association of Birth Centers defines a birth center as:
The Birth Center is a homelike facility, existing within a healthcare system with a program of care designed in the wellness model of pregnancy and birth.
What does it mean to be a birth center?
- Healthy, low risk care for women and babies
- Primary care/well woman care
- Prenatal, postnatal and neonatal (<28 days) care
- Care during labor and childbirth in a holistic, comfortable atmosphere by midwives
- Part of the formal medical care system
Families would be admitted to the ALWCBC once active labor has begun. Medications for the induction or augmentation of labor will not be allowed. Women will be allowed to eat in labor if they desire. ALWCBC promotes natural childbirth, birth without the use of pain medications or epidural analgesia. For comfort in labor, women will be encouraged to use ambulation, tubs and showers, relaxation methods, meditation, aroma therapy, and music therapy, along with the support of their family and doula. Nitrous Oxide will be available as well during the latter part of the labor if needed.
FOCUS:
- Personalized birth plans.
- Comprehensive OB care.
- Natural deliveries.
- Fertility counseling.
- Hydrotherapy (water labor).
- Well-woman Care across the lifespan.
- Lowest Cesarean section rate in the region.
- Collaborative care with experienced, supportive physicians and OB/GYNs.
To ensure access to a safe, client-centered, comfortable and cost-efficient care experiences for all women.
Our Vision
To redefine birthing and women’s wellness by establishing a women’s care and free-standing birth center as the mainstream healthcare delivery model for women in the Southern Allegheny community.
The leading priorities of the Abundant Life Women’s Care & Birth Center are safety and quality with customer experience as a close second.
Our Philosophy
We believe that every woman has the right to a standard of excellence in her healthcare, to be treated with respect for human dignity and cultural preferences, and to be an active partner in her healthcare. We believe that the establishment of a freestanding women’s care and birth center provides the best opportunity to succeed in our mission.
Our Purpose
- To offer a comprehensive program of well woman health education that encourages women to take responsibility for their wellbeing. To support women’s developing and maintaining healthy lifestyles, which will ultimately benefit not only themselves, but their families and communities.
- To provide safe, satisfying and affordable healthcare services in a caring, supportive and culturally sensitive environment. To welcome women of all ages, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds who desire nurse-midwifery care.
- To support the family, the cornerstone of our social structure, by recognizing and respecting those individuals who are identified by the woman as members of her family unit.
- To respect a woman’s right to informed consent. To encourage her to be an active partner in her care and to support the decisions she makes in matters of her health care.
- To offer and participate in community education focused on the benefits of midwifery care for women of all ages. To offer the birth center option for childbearing families.
- To provide, to the extent possible, student midwives and other healthcare providers with a clinical experience of the midwifery model of maternity care. To participate in related research and evaluation.
"A society that places a low value on its mothers and the process of birth will suffer an array of negative repercussions for doing so. Good beginnings make a positive difference in the world, so it is worth our while to provide the best possible care for mothers and babies throughout this extraordinarily influential part of life." ~ Ina May Gaskin
Your donation brings us closer to bringing the facility to life.
Monetary Donations
Sponsors
Women Helped
Supplies Received
We believe that every woman has the right to a standard of excellence in her healthcare, to be treated with respect for human dignity and cultural preferences, and to be an active partner in her healthcare.
Below are partners and resources that have helped bring our vision to life.
