Providence Alternative Birth Center

Join us for a no-cost community spring health and wellness fair on Saturday, May 20, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Ascension Providence Hospital, Southfield Campus, in the Fisher Parking lot (16001 West 9 Mile Road, Southfield). Car seat fittings, blood pressure screenings and lead testing will be available on site. Enjoy a food truck, face painting, giveaways and games. RSVP by calling 248-849-5407.

Please join us for this fantastic family event!

Spring Health and Wellness Fair
Saturday, May 20 11 a.m.-2 p.m.

A very special part of our job that we LOVE and makes us unique is that we follow up with our patients after discharge!

Sometimes, a family may find themselves needing some unexpected, extra support and this gives our nurses a chance to connect them with some resources.

One fantastic Ascension resource we thought we'd share for our families (and for other birth workers to share) is "Neighborhood Resource". Neighborhood Resource is a free and easy-to-use online platform that connects you to social services and resources in your community--using your zip code!

neighborhood resource Neighborhood Resource is a free and easy-to-use online platform that connects you to social services and resources in your community.

We thought we would start off the new year by sharing a great tool we got in 2022: A NAPPING SPOT FOR THE NURSES! 🥳

Just kidding😜 Introducing the CUB (Comfortable Upright Birth).

Our babies are birthed ALL OVER our rooms in a variety of positions. We value the importance in listening to your body. We are so excited to have this as an additional tool in our toolbox!

We also love that our other birthing centers in Novi and Southfield got one too! The research is in support of the many benefits of upright birth and we definitely highlight various positions in our classes to spark some inspiration for labor! Families and birth workers who would like to check out some of the articles can find them at https://www.the-cub-usa.com/research-on-upright-birth.html.

"The CUB (Comfortable Upright Birth) support is a multi award winning, patented support designed to help mothers adopt and maintain positions that are physically the most helpful for them and their babies during late pregnancy, labor and birth. The CUB can be used throughout labor as a comfortable support, either to sit on, rest on or lean over as well as to give birth to the baby on." (https://www.the-cub-usa.com/)

ABC Diaries #5

As told by our very own ABC Nurse, Natalie.

"Jane's birth at the ABC was definitely instrumental in my decision to go to nursing school and the reason why I applied here several times. I dreamed about working here someday."

To learn more about our unit and/or see more entries, join us at orientation every second Wednesday of the month: https://ascension-mi.regfox.com/abc
(You can, of course, also follow us on this page for future diary entries too!)

Our fantastic in-house program, Safe Kids Oakland County, put together a great way to make sure our ABC babies stay safe as they grow--from infant carriers to seat belts!

They will also send you some FREEBIES you can pick out in the post-class survey!

Please feel free to share this with family, caregivers or anyone who will ever buckle a child up!

_____________________________

Car Seat Basics is a free e-learning course that takes about 60 minutes to complete. Register today and take it anytime before January 1st 2023!

Learn to keep children safe in cars as they grow. On-demand means you can complete all or specific modules on rear-facing and forward-facing car seat use, as well as booster seat and seat belt use.

Who should take this course? Parents, caregivers, grandparents, nannies, etc.

https://ascension-mi.regfox.com/car-seat-basics-on-demand

ABC Family Diaries, Entry #4

Baby Francis' Birth as told by her mom, Fionna:

“When we were in the car, I felt the 'ring of fire' and I realized that I wasn't being dramatic, the baby was actually about to arrive! When Kyle got me out of the car and into the wheelchair, he said "I can feel the baby's head" but I surprised myself again by not completely panicking and staying calm…”
“We appreciated not being thrust into an overly chaotic or 'medical' scenario. The nursing staff in particular were extremely accommodating and went above and beyond to make sure we were comfortable and relaxed.”

To learn more about our unit and/or see more entries, join us at orientation every second Wednesday of the month: https://ascension-mi.regfox.com/abc
(You can, of course, also follow us on this page for future diary entries too!)

Have you heard??

Ascension Providence Hospital has been ranked as the "Best Maternity Hospital" in Michigan! We are the ONLY hospital in Michigan to receive the high honor of 5 ribbons.

We are proud of the role the ABC has played and the amazing staff in our birthing centers that have made this high achievement possible.

Check out the article here:
https://www.newsweek.com/rankings/americas-best-maternity-hospitals-2022

If you are interested in joining the ABC family, join us for our monthly virtual orientations to learn more! Our next one is scheduled for this Wednesday night and you can sign up here:
https://ascension-mi.regfox.com/abc

If you have any questions, please email [email protected]
❤️

America's Best Maternity Hospitals 2022 America's Best Maternity Hospitals 2022

We are honored to be listed on Kev's Best as the only birthing center in the top 5 "best" in Detroit Maternity!

https://kevsbest.com/best-maternity-in-detroit-mi/

5 Best Maternity in Detroit, MI Below is a list of the top and leading Maternity in Detroit. To help you find the best Maternity located near you in Detroit, we put together our own list based on this rating points list. Contents hide Detroit’s Best Maternity: Detroit Mama Hub Mom and Baby Shop Clothes Mentor Pregnancy Aid Detro...

Today is International Day of the Midwife and we want to give a huge shout out to the fantastic Providence Nurse Midwives who care for so many of our ABC families!

This month's ABC orientation is followed by our virtual Meet the Midwives where you can meet these wonderful providers and learn about what makes the midwifery model of care so special. Click the link below to register and come hang out on your couch with us!

https://ascension-mi.regfox.com/abc

Celebrating, honoring, and supporting our birthing families of color with every visit and every birth 💗

ABC Family Diaries, Entry #3
Sage's Birth as told by her mom, Mikele:

"My experience giving birth in the ABC felt calm, peaceful and relaxed – I felt like I was in charge. It was important to me that I was able to make the decisions, and I felt honored and supported in that. I felt like I was taken seriously and respected...
..During transition, I got out of the tub and was most comfortable on hands and knees on the floor while my husband did hip squeezes. He joked that he worked out during my pregnancy just so he could do the hip squeezes hard enough! He knew just what to do to support me..."(full story in photos)

To learn more about our unit and/or see more entries, join us at orientation every second Wednesday of the month: https://ascension-mi.regfox.com/abc
(You can, of course, also follow us on this page for future diary entries too!)

ABC Family Diaries, Entry #3:
SNEAK PEAK! COMING SOON!

To learn more about our unit and/or see more entries, join us at orientation every second Wednesday of the month: https://ascension-mi.regfox.com/abc

(You can, of course, also follow us on this page for future diary entries too!)

This little guy was born just before the pandemic--it's hard to believe he just turned 2!

This family photo was taken just before they went home. Discharge is always such a bittersweet time for us.

One of the wonderful and unique things about our birthing center is that we often call and follow up with families at home. We say it's to see how things are going (share resources, answer questions, etc.) but often we think it's because we miss our families too!

We want to hear from you!

We are looking to feature birth stories from our ABC families and from the doulas who work so hard supporting their clients.

If you are interested in sharing your ABC story, please email us at [email protected] for details 🥰

FREE Virtual Baby Safety Fair - Winter & Indoor Safety

On February 16, 2022 from 10-11:30 a.m., join the Oakland County Health Division for a virtual baby fair to learn about important safety information to keep your baby or grandbaby safe. Learn more about indoor and winter weather safety. Topics include:

Child Passenger Safety
Smoking Risk & Cessation
Feeding Infants Safely
Household Safety
Lead
Safe Sleep

Register at https://oakgov.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_5dTlDFoAYcZj6u2. Registration is required. You don't need to be an Oakland County resident to attend.

We hope all our past, present, and future families had a wonderful holiday season! We are so grateful for you all 🎊

Comment with your favorite birth affirmations so we can share them with our 2022 families!

Elf on the Shelf is rocking out some of our favorite ABC moves! We talk about all these and more in our virtual classes!

To learn more, email us at [email protected] or visit https://ascension-mi.regfox.com/childbirtheducation

*Photo by the creative folks at RCHT Delivery Suite

We are thankful for YOU-- our ABC family!

What are you thankful for this year? 🦃

We are proud to announce a new virtual class offering for 2022--designed with the ABC Family in mind*!

Have you birthed naturally in a previous pregnancy and are looking for an affordable refresher? We have a class option for you too!

*ANYONE FROM ANY BIRTHING LOCATION IS WELCOME TO JOIN!

https://ascension-mi.regfox.com/virtualbirthingnaturally

(Virtual) Birthing Naturally, Hosted by the Alternative Birth Center (ABC) This childbirth class is tailored to future/current ABC families, but is open to everyone interested in natural birth. The classes are led by experienced, ABC Registered Nurses, who have also personally birthed naturally.

We love our Providence Nurse Midwives!

Fun Fact: They hold the record for attending the most ABC births!

This Wednesday, at 7pm, you are invited to "Meet the Midwives"!

To register for this FREE event:
https://ascension-mi.regfox.com/meet-the-midwives

Happy Independence Day!
🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲🇺🇲

Did you know dehydration can trigger Braxton Hicks contractions? We hear about this frequently on July 4th!
..so REMEMBER TO HYDRATE 🚰 and take frequent breaks from the heat! 🥵

We discuss the 5-1-1 rule/distinguishing true labor in our orientation! Of course, always call your provider if you are not sure!

https://ascension-mi.regfox.com/abc

We love hosting or sharing free community events that can help you get ready for your baby!

The Oakland County Health Division is hosting a FREE virtual baby safety fair on June 29 from 1-3pm and June 30 from 9-11am.
There are four short presentations on child passenger safety, safe sleep, household safety, and lead prevention.

Everyone will receive give-a-ways in the mail for attending.
Register here:
https://bit.ly/3strvTP
https://bit.ly/2P69g9w

County Health Division

The Alternative Birth Center (ABC) at Ascension Providence in Southfield, MI is hiring for full and part time NIGHTS! The ABC has been a part of the Metro Detroit community for over 40 years! It started out as a free standing birth center and now functions as a low risk LDRP unit, independent from labor and delivery but still in close proximity to both L&D/postpartum. We offer intermittent monitoring, hydrotherapy, freedom of movement, and truly support physiologic birth. We all truly believe in the midwifery model of care and shared decision making with our patients! ✨

Our ABC nurses enjoy flexibility with self scheduling, a collaborative relationship with the adjunct units, and work closely with our midwives and physicians. The ABC has been my second home for the last 4 years and I’ll say the best parts of this job have been building close bonds with our families and being a part of such an amazing team! ♥️

The ideal candidate would have at least a year of L&D Nurse experience, and have a passion for labor support and postpartum care. The positions may not be posted yet but we are looking for someone ASAP. Please feel free to message me privately or text me @734-560-2938 with questions or for more information.

What a beautiful little gem! Thank you for your talent and the tag Carri Beth Photography ❤

Oh man! This baby girl is absolutely a living doll! She is so perfect, from her head to her toes, and she was the most amazing model baby for me yesterday. Her mama is lucky that she made it out of here with her because I really wanted to keep her. She looks so stunning in every shot we took, and I cannot WAIT to share more!!! You are all going to fall in love with her just like I did...if you haven’t already, just from looking at her sweet face in this image. 😍

Jammies, Bonnet, & Tieback: handmade for this beautiful babe by

There are 3 spots left for the Virtual Infant Care class (this Tuesday)! They usually sell out the weekend before, so sn**ch it up before it's too late! Open to all families in Metro Detroit :)

While our educators call this class our "Baby Basics" course--it's really much more than that! The instructor, Sara, goes through what we ALL wish we knew when we had our first baby and some fun as well!
Email [email protected] if you have any questions

https://ascension-mi.regfox.com/babybasics

Virtual Infant Care Class (Ascension Providence) Online registration for Virtual Baby Basics Class (Ascension Providence).

We are blessed to cross paths with so many talented, birth related small businesses ♥️

So much to love in this photo 😍

Yamile Branch Photography

https://m.facebook.com/YamileBranchPhotography/photos/a.159502644158068/927680497340275/?type=3&source=54