Family Beginnings Birthing Center

Group Health's Family Beginnings is one of the finest birthing centers in the Seattle area. Located on our Capitol Hill campus, Family Beginnings offers expert maternity care in the comfort of a beautiful, family-centered, home-like environment. We are proud of our respect for patient choice and our capacity to respond to the unexpected.

Back to: Maternity Services

Family Beginnings offers full medical support with an obstetrician/gynecologist (Ob/Gyn), pediatrician, and anesthesiologist at the facility 24 hours a day. For higher-risk newborns, Family Beginnings has a special care nursery. In this setting, we have one of the lowest cesarean section rates in Washington.

During your pregnancy, you can choose the kind of practitioner who will provide your maternity care and deliver your baby: an Ob/Gyn, a certified nurse-midwife, a family practice resident, or in some cases, your personal primary care physician. See Women's Health Care for a description of women's health care specialists.

You may self-refer to any maternity provider. When searching for a provider in our Provider Directory, narrow your search results by selecting "offers maternity services."

Where to Find Us

Family Beginnings Birthing Center is located on the third and fourth floors of the North Building on the Capitol Hill Campus in Seattle. The Group Health Ob/Gyn physicians and midwives who deliver babies at Family Beginnings provide prenatal care in their offices in the Women's Center, located on the second floor.

Our Health Care Team

Some of our family practice physicians and all of our family practice residents also deliver babies at Family Beginnings. These doctors offer maternity care in their offices at the following locations:

• Family Health Center, Capitol Hill South Building
• Burien Medical Center
• Northgate Medical Center
• Rainier Medical Center

The nurses at Family Beginnings support all these providers and are experienced in assisting with all types of labor and delivery. Whether you choose an epidural or an unmedicated delivery, the nursing staff will support you and your partner throughout the process with encouragement and empathy.

The Focus Is on You

Family Beginnings was designed to meet your needs during this special time. That's why this exceptional unit has 14 private rooms, fully equipped to accommodate labor, delivery, and recovery for both mother and newborn.

Each individual room embraces our philosophy of family-centered care. Babies "room in" with mom. There's a special chair that converts to a bed to accommodate partners spending the night. By being together in one room, you and your partner can start bonding with your baby and learning your baby's needs in a supportive environment with nurses readily available.

The decor is warm and comfortable. Your room's appearance will be as non-clinical as possible so you can feel more relaxed. Every room has a CD player, DVD player, VCR, mini-refrigerator, and soaking tubs for you and your baby. It's really just like being at home — except with expert medical care and the latest technology right down the hall.

Good looks and comfort aside, Family Beginnings has what it takes to safely deliver babies:

• Close, tight-knit, collegial relationships among all members of the health care team
• Computerized fetal monitoring systems to help track mom's and baby's vital signs
• Two surgical suites for cesarean section deliveries
• Infant resuscitation units and emergency equipment tucked away out of sight unless or until they're needed
• A security system to protect you and your baby

Special Care Nursery

While most babies share a room with their mothers, some require the attention of our Special Care Nursery. This 15-bed unit, fully equipped with all the latest equipment and technology needed to care for higher-risk babies, is staffed by neonatologists (newborn-care specialists), pediatricians, and specially-trained registered nurses who are dedicated to getting these babies well and into the arms of their parents as soon as possible.

Families are encouraged to take an active part in caring for their infant, and boarding rooms are made available after mom's discharge from Family Beginnings for families with newborns in the Special Care Nursery.

Mother and Baby Come First

The health care professionals at Family Beginnings are committed to providing individualized care and support for women in labor. We pride ourselves on our ability to give one-on-one, exclusive nursing care to every patient in active labor. We're also sensitive to the social and spiritual needs of different cultures and traditions, and work closely with each expectant mother to do everything possible to support her birth plan and philosophy.

Our policy about length of stay is simple and direct: Mother and baby must be medically stable before they leave the facility. That means no one goes home until we're sure they do not need in-hospital medical care. The final decision is made between mother and doctor or midwife.

Because we are committed to you and your baby's good health, your care follows you home. Your midwife or a registered nurse will follow up with a phone assessment to make sure mother and baby are doing fine. In addition, depending on your individual circumstances and medical concerns, you might receive a home visit from a nurse skilled in lactation support.

Neighborcare Health Nurse-Midwifery Services

Non-members can also receive care and give birth at Family Beginnings with the certified nurse midwives of Neighborcare Health. Neighborcare provides prenatal, labor, delivery, and postpartum care. Their back-up physicians are Group Health obstetricians. Neighborcare Health nurse-midwifery services are covered by most commercial insurances, Healthy Options, DSHS coupons, and fee-for-service clients. Neighborcare Health also offers an obstetrics/maternity discount for clients who are uninsured.

Neighborcare Health's midwives see clients at five community health centers. To meet the Neighborcare midwives and learn more about the practice, you are welcome to attend a quarterly open house. To make an appointment or attend an open house, call:

• 45th Street Medical Clinic, 206-633-3350
• Greenwood Medical Clinic, 206-782-8660
• High Point Medical Clinic, 206-461-6950
• Rainier Beach Medical Clinic, 206-722-8444
• Rainier Park Medical Clinic, 206-461-6957

For more information, visit the Neighborcare Health Web site.

Find Out More

For more information about having your baby at Family Beginnings, contact Customer Service.