TeamBirth
Empowering You as the Center of Your Care Team
It is your body and your birth – you are the center of a team made up of your doctor or midwife, nurses, doulas, and support people.
TeamBirth uses Huddles as a method of communicating to help everyone understand and make decisions.
As a TeamBirth hospital, we want to learn about your preferences and support you through a safe and respectful birth experience.
TeamBirth huddles are communication opportunities. They are times when your care team comes together to share information and talk with you and your support people about
your birth process and your baby.
A Huddle is a time to share information, make decisions, discuss changes in care, or express preferences about your experience. Huddles happen shortly after admission, throughout your hospital stay, or whenever you or a team member asks for one.
While the huddle is important for communication, you can also ask for more time to discuss options outside of the huddle.
- You are the expert on your body, cultural traditions, and faith practice. You can choose the role you want in decision-making, but no matter your role, remember to
share what you know about your body and how you are feeling with your team. - Your nurse will be by your side through most of your labor. They will do their best to keep you informed about what is happening and advocate for what could be most helpful for you based on your situation and care.
- Your doctor or midwife will present all available care or treatment options, explain the pros and cons, and guide the team to make decisions together. If your doctor or midwife is unavailable to meet in person, they may join the huddle by phone. The goal is a safe birth so there may be times when a huddle is not possible and your provider needs to make quick decisions for you or your baby’s safety.
- Let’s Talk! The TeamBirth whiteboard is available for you and your care team to use to help with communication. Key notes will be written on the whiteboard so anyone assisting in your care knows your preferences and plan.
Safe births start with listening, so we want to empower you to use your voice and communicate with us. Below are some examples of how to bring up any concerns.
If you do not feel like you can speak up for any reason, ask your support person or the team member you trust the most to help speak up for you.
“I would like to talk about this with the full team. When can we get together for a huddle to talk more?”
How is your labor going? How much energy do you have? What feels good for your body? What does not?
“I know you see this every day, but this feels different (or frightening) for me. Can you help me understand why I am feeling this way and if there is anything we should worry about?”
“I feel different now and have different preferences for my labor. I want to change the care plan and would like to discuss options for that.”
“This is important to me. Can we discuss options for how to proceed from here?”
You have the right to know all your options for care. How are you and your baby doing? What choices do you have for your care? What are the pros and cons for each one?
“I would like more information about my choices. What are the pros and cons of this plan? What are the other choices we could consider? What would happen if we did nothing instead?”
“I am still feeling good, and I would like to keep laboring if possible. Can you help me understand the reason you are recommending delivery? Are there any options we could consider, giving me more time?”
“How are my baby and I doing right now? What can I expect next? When should I be concerned?”