Center Services

The Family Health and Birth Center (FHBC) is a full scope birth center providing prenatal, birth, postnatal, gynecological and primary health care to women and their families in NE Washington D.C. FHBC is a special place for pregnant women, children, and their families. We view pregnancy and childbirth as normal, healthy events. We promote wellness and confidence related to birth and parenting. We provide women with care that is respectful and also responsive to their individual needs.

FHBC welcomes all women and their families, with a primary focus on residents of Wards 5, 6, 7 & 8. Our goal is to bring affordable, family-centered maternity, well-woman, and well-child care to all who need it.

Appointments

You can schedule an appointment by calling 202-398-5520

Prenatal Care

Our Certified Nurse Midwives offer prenatal care to women with low risk pregnancies. Consultation is available with the physicians at Washington Hospital Center. All prenatal clients may choose to deliver either at Washington Hospital Center or at the freestanding birth center at our location (for those who are medically eligible). First visits are conducted in a group format for an introduction and orientation to FHBC and also include a private visit with a Midwife. For the first two trimesters of pregnancy, women have monthly individual visits with a Midwife. At each prenatal visit, FHBC helps women learn about their bodies, their babies, and the choices they have in their care.

For the last trimester, care is conducted in groups. Each woman joins a group of women whose babies are due in the same month. They come to FHBC every two weeks for a clinical check up and an hour-long meeting to discuss common concerns and answer questions. The classes provide an opportunity for expecting moms to sympathize and share information while participating in extensive prenatal education and relaxation exercises such as prenatal yoga and meditation. Each session deals with a different childbirth education theme, including nutrition in pregnancy, substance abuse during pregnancy, the physiology and stages of labor, pain relief during labor, an explanation of common medical interventions in labor, caring for your infant, post-partum issues, sexuality and family planning, and breastfeeding and infant nutrition.

FHBC is a group practice, meaning that FHBC does not “assign” women to a particular midwife. Instead, they get to know all of the midwives on the team during their prenatal care so that they can be comfortable with the midwife who is on call when they are in labor.

Birth Care

Birth care is offered at two sites, at the freestanding birth center at our location and at Washington Hospital Center. The FHBC midwives provide labor support and management and catch babies at both locations. Volunteer Doulas are also available to assist women in labor at both sites. During and after pregnancy, women have 24/7 access to our midwives through our call system.

The birth center offers a low-tech, relaxed environment while also providing the staff and equipment necessary for a safe and satisfying birth. Women may be accompanied by as many, or as few, friends and family members as they choose at the birth center. They are encouraged to eat, drink and move as they wish while in labor. We offer the option for water birth in our jacuzzi tubs. Newborns are never separated from their mothers at the birth center and breastfeeding is assisted by the midwives and doulas. Families stay at the birth center for about four hours after the birth and then return to their homes. A midwife will visit the mom and baby at home on the day after the birth and stay in close telephone contact for the next few days.

Our Midwives also have privileges at nearby Washington Hospital Center. Hospital birth at Washington Hospital Center with FHBC Midwives is available for women who have more risk factors, for women who desire epidural anesthesia while in labor and for other women who may prefer hospital birth. As in the Birth Center, FHBC Midwives work to create satisfying, empowering birth experiences for women in the hospital environment.

Regardless of where you choose to give birth, our Midwives will provide 24-hour home/hospital visits and 48-72 hour phone visits. We also offer a unique Mom-Baby Dyad Two Week Postpartum Clinic where both mom and baby receive a comprehensive check up from our Family Nurse Practitioner. FHBC staff continues to be available throughout the postpartum period, with our Midwives remaining accessible day and night through our 24/7call system.

Well-Woman Care

Well woman services include routine annual exams with health screenings and family planning care. We offer the complete range of contraceptive choices: pills, rings, patches, IUDs, depo provera, etc., as well as advice for women who are planning to become pregnant. HIV and other STD testing and treatment are available. Women receive diagnosis and treatment related to general gynecological problems, and may request care for “change of life” symptoms associated with menopause. FHBC midwives spend time with their clients to discuss how they can live their most healthy lifestyle.

Pediatric Services

FHBC has two wonderful Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (PNPs) who provide comprehensive primary care. This includes yearly physical exams for children, as well as specific exams for day care, school, and sports. Services include well-baby/well-child care, sick-baby/sick-child care, and youth/young adult health care (to age 21), vaccinations, and referrals to specialists when necessary. Working within a nurse-practitioner model, our PNPs conduct the entire visit themselves, allowing more time for education and relationship building with children and parents. Through a partnership with Reach out and Read, our PNPs also provide free books and literacy encouragement during all well-child exams. Our caring providers offer advice to parents about the development of their children.

FHBC is unique in offering pediatric care within the context of a Midwifery centered OB/GYN practice. Offering all of these services side-by-side is an extremely beneficial model for our families, and allows us to build more comprehensive relationships with our patients across their life span. More practically speaking, it means that a mom coming in for her annual exam or prenatal check-up can also have her two year-old’s well child visit scheduled simultaneously. Our pediatric primary care also serves to avert unnecessary emergency room visits through a 24/7 call system, thus saving our families and the larger healthcare system time and money.

Breastfeeding Peer Counseling

As part of our effort to improve pediatric outcomes in the population we serve, in 2007 FHBC established a Breastfeeding Peer Counselor Program designed to increase breastfeeding rates by empowering women throughout the breastfeeding process. Our Breastfeeding Peer Counselors (BFPC) are all women who have successfully given birth and breastfed with FHBC and are thus in an ideal position to help other women do the same. Our BFPCs assist with the facilitation of all Group Prenatal Care sessions, allowing them to build relationships with all of our mothers throughout the course of each pregnancy. They then offer phone support in the immediate postpartum, as well as a 3-5 home visit. They continue to offer one-on-one counseling, in the home or at the Birth Center, for the first year postpartum. Like our midwives, they are also available 24/7 to answer questions related to breastfeeding and baby care.

Doula Services

The Family Health and Birth Center offers doulas to all women who give birth with our midwives, whether at the birth center or the hospital. Women who are considered at-risk for preterm or low weight birth are matched with an experienced doula. This doula works intensively with the family to identify and help modify risks for preterm birth, provide prenatal education, attend the labor and birth, and connect families to further resources in the postpartum period.

All women have the ongoing support of our 24/7 volunteer on-call doula program. At any time in labor, women can request the support of a trained birth doula. Women also have the option of requesting a doula in advance of labor. Whenever possible the volunteer doula meets with families once prenatally, and then joins the family for labor and birth. Doulas at FHBC have a wide range of experience and skill set that they bring to the labor room.

If you have questions about doula services offered at FHBC, or if you are interested in becoming an FHBC volunteer doula, please contact Katie Daily at Doulas@yourfhbc.org

Coordinated Wellness Program

Our Coordinated Wellness Program offers a variety of nutrition and exercise activities designed to provide accessible, affordable health-promoting opportunities for clients and community members of all ages. The wellness program seeks to build upon existing FHBC programs and offers new classes to compliment our clinical services. The program also incorporates concepts of health literacy, self-efficacy, and advocacy for individual and community health needs. Our programs are open to all Developing Families Center clients and their families.

Development of the wellness program requires community input into all aspects of its creation and maintenance, and we aim to emphasize the collection and implementation of community input at all stages.

For a calendar of wellness classes and events, please visit the FHBC Events Calendar. If you have any questions about the wellness program or specific components, please contact Holly at (202) 398-5520 or email hollace.pk@gmail.com.