The Birthing Center is a place where women and families are offered professional counselling and care throughout pregnancy, childbirth and early parenthood.

From being embedded in the mothers womb, the baby grows to be rooted in this world. A time of change where we give you continuing support and information on all pregnancy issues and questions, parenting, a large variety of choices for a natural birth including water birth, advice about breastfeeding, the care of new-borns and family planning. The bonding between mother, child and father is thus strengthened from early pregnancy onwards.

It is run by the German midwife Corinna Stahlhofen and offers a personal, holistic and family-centred perspective on women’s health and maternity care. The whole process is based on the personal relationship between the mother/family and their midwife that forms over the time. Principles of prevention, reassurance, reinforcement of the woman’s own abilities and natural resources underlie our care, with appropriate intervention being kept to the necessary minimum.

The Birthing Center is a place that gives you a caring warm and homelike setting where you are supported and respected as well as safe and secure. The Birthing Center works in a continuum of care that includes the collaboration and co-operation with other medical specialists when needed. If risks are determined during our consultations we co-operate with obstetricians and paediatricians when necessary. We are affiliated with other birth related practitioners, such as teachers of parenting classes, yoga for pregnant women and nutritional experts. Pre- and postnatal classes give parents the opportunity to meet like-minded people, exchange views and discuss queries.

Birth itself is a natural, genuinely wise process. A normal birth needs neither medical intervention nor drugs. After a normal pregnancy with a normal onset, establishment and progress of labour, a normal birth should be expected. Our aims as midwifes are: to guide you throughout labour and birth by using our experience, knowledge and ideas and to make sure to intervene only when a situation demands it. Trusting in your own abilities and strength and being supported by the ones you choose will create an environment where you will feel at ease. Your midwife will be at your side in labour and childbirth. She will observe the progress of birth and the wellbeing of mother and child. The Birthing Center welcomes your children, your parents and friends so you can decide who will be with you or near you as you give birth. You will have a private room for giving birth, where you can make yourself comfortable, take a bath, wear your own clothing and have nourishment when you feel hungry.

We abstain from using pharmaceutical pain medication and pitocin to avoid unwanted risks and side-effects and in order to be fully aware of the changes that take place. Through the use of different relaxation and healing techniques we support you during birth and in dealing with labour pain. There are no routine procedures - every birth is different, our aim is to strive together for physical, emotional and spiritual intactness and entity. Throughout labour and birth you are free to move around according to your own wishes and needs. After the birth you will have time for yourself to peacefully greet and welcome your child and establish the first precious bonding.

Now you have time for recreation, rest and some nourishment that will be provided for the new family. Your child will now enter the most sensitive phase of adaptation to its new surroundings. Physical changes take place, like starting to breathe and to digest, to hear, see and smell, to feel different temperatures and textures and to get a feeling for gravity and space. In addition to this a time of emotional changes begins for the family. The mother is faced with entirely new physical, emotional and mental situations through the new experiences of motherhood, the establishment of breastfeeding and the physical evolution.

For the fathers, we offer ideas about how they can support and protect their wives and babies throughout this special time through childbirth classes and the exchange with other like-minded parents.