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Congratulations to the proud parents!

The COVID-19 discussion on June 4th has been cancelled. Please check back on our website for more details.

Dear All,

Leadership at BBC and Jazz are monitoring local and national updates daily to help inform our decision-making related to our patients, birth workers, as well as our committed staff.

We understand that we find ourselves in stressful times for which no one has been well prepared. BBC and Jazz are doing our best to address all COVID-19 questions that arise in a timely fashion, please check back regularly for updates.  Any changes related to patient care will be communicated directly to our patients in a timely way. 

COVID-19 interim health and safety protocols – updated October 28, 2020:

• We are offering in-person visits of all types with appropriate social distance measures in place:
  • • EVERY person entering the building for any reason will be screened for fever and COVID-19 symptoms, and is required to cover their mouth and nose with a covering or mask at all times
    • Only ONE support person/family member allowed during visits
    • Seating in the waiting room is limited, our staff is using alternate waiting spaces as needed to avoid crowding. 
    • You may wait in a vehicle and call the office when you arrive if you prefer, and our office staff will notify you when the midwife is ready to see you in the exam room.

• When you arrive for your appointment, please call us from your vehicle or when you are a few blocks away and a staff member will complete the check-in process over the phone.
• Testing: In accordance with NYC guidelines, we encourage frequent testing of all individuals and immediate testing in the case of possible exposure or symptoms. 
  • • During pregnancy we will perform antibody testing upon entry to our care. 
    • At 38-39 weeks of pregnancy, we recommend testing of the mother and all members of the birth team, to be repeated every 5 days.
    • Missing test results do not risk a person out of birth at the birth center, but recent negative test results are helpful, especially in cases of transfer to the hospital.

LABOR AND DELIVERY at the birth center

• TWO support people are permitted during labor, birth and postpartum. This may be a mix of partner, friend, relative, doula, photographer, etc of your choosing but the total number is TWO. Please arrange childcare for any siblings as we cannot allow siblings in addition to your two support people. 
• Support people will not be allowed to come and go or “switch” with other individuals during labor/birth/postpartum. 
• Birthing person and support people will be screened for temperature and COVID-19 symptoms upon arrival. Any person with fever or symptoms will not be allowed to enter.
• Masks must be worn at all times by all support people. Mothers may remove their mask if it interferes with their ability to labor effectively. 
• Prior to arrival the midwife team will do TELEVISIT TRIAGE to determine the best time to arrive at the birth center.
• We recommend that people bring a fresh set of clothes to wear while at the center and pack their street clothes away.
• Anyone coming to the birth center must remain in the birth/labor room with the laboring person during the duration of labor, birth and postpartum. 

POSTPARTUM

• Immediate postpartum: BBC/Jazz procedures and protocol as of now stays the same. Patients should expect to be at the center for 4 to 6 hours postpartum
• Postpartum/Newborn Visits: 
  • Newborns need screening at 24-48 hours after birth. If your selected pediatrician cannot perform these, the newborn will be brought back to the birth center for screening. Newborns will be seen separate from any other patients in the building.
  • Mother will be seen in the office during the newborn screening visit or will have a telemedicine visit within 48hrs of birth if baby is being seen by pediatrician
• 4-6 week postpartum visits will occur in person

OTHER

• All classes and group tours are being held virtually. You may tour the birth center during a prenatal appointment if you are already in our care. No public in-person tours will occur at this time. 
• We offer limited COVID-19 testing at our office but will refer you to an appropriate place based on your location as needed.

The staff of BBC/Jazz understand that these are unprecedented and stressful times. If you have any questions at all you are welcome to contact the office or you may email Dr. Veridiano, at i[email protected] All information provided here is subject to change based on evolving local recommendations. 

The health of our families is of utmost importance to the BBC/Jazz team. 

We are committed to provide the most peaceful and positive birth experience possible under these difficult circumstances. 

Thank you for trusting us with your health care.

Your BBC/Jazz health care team!

We are proud to report that Brooklyn Birthing Center is heavily featured in today’s The New York Times article, “Why New York Lags So Far Behind on Natural Childbirth.” This article explores the unique barriers faced by New York City families seeking a low-intervention birth experience.

According to Doctor Laura Zeidenstein, director of the graduate midwifery program at Columbia School of Nursing, “Midwifery is very hands-on and time-intensive. Midwives utilize technology judiciously. The cost is human time and that just can’t be billed for.” Medical interventions such as anesthesia, on the other hand, are well-compensated by insurance payers. Many birthing centers have folded due to economic pressures or bureaucratic red tape.

Despite these challenges, New York City parents-to-be continue to demand access to skilled midwifery care. As today’s New York Times article points out, Brooklyn Birthing Center addresses this demand as the only accredited freestanding birthing facility in metropolitan New York.

We are pleased to announce that we are now in-network with Aetna! We look forward to welcoming more Aetna members into our practice.

We understand that many prospective clients have questions about insurance coverage. We accept most major insurance plans, including Medicaid managed care plans. Although some plans will claim that we are “out of network,” we are often able to obtain gap exceptions. We also offer discounts and payment plans for self-pay clients.

We strive to minimize out-of-pocket costs and eliminate surprise bills. Toward this goal, we work with a professional billing service in order to verify benefits, estimate out-of-pocket costs, and negotiate gap exceptions. For more information, please check out the insurance section of our website or attend an orientation.

Next, around 12pm, I got in the shower and the contractions were coming so fast and strong I couldn’t talk at all! Markus announced they were about 2 minutes apart but I didn’t really hear him, I was too busy throwing up and breathing. I knew this was a sign that the baby was coming soon, but I wasn’t really thinking at this point just trying to keep breathing through each wave. We called Lily; it was definitely time to go. The birthing center was almost an hour away but I managed to get comfortable by kneeling on the floor and shoving my face and shoulders between two big pillows and pushing my back and butt against the back of the front seat. It felt good to push against something and riding with the bumps in the road helped distract me from the contractions that felt like they were on top of each other. 

We got to the birth center around 1:30pm and I made it to ring the bell at the stoop just before I had to drop down to the ground for another contraction. Lily the midwife arrived at that moment, and we went inside. It was cool and empty, and as soon as I went into the bathroom and sat on the toilet I felt a big wonderful push sensation! It felt intense but was a relief after the contractions. Lily checked me out and I was 10 cm dilated- the baby was coming! Our doula Bonnie and the assistant Kathryn arrived and Markus parked the car and came back just in time to head back to the room with us. Looking back, I am so thankful that we didn’t have to go through triage, or deal with being hooked up to an IV or a monitor at this point. Instead, everyone followed my lead as I pushed kneeling by the bed, then I was offered a birthing ball. Lily began to fill the tub as I had asked, and the sound of running water was so nice. Markus and Bonnie alternated holding my hand with each push and putting a cold wash cloth on my neck which all felt amazing. The room was quiet except for the water running, my moans with each contraction, and the encouraging words of Bonnie, Markus, Lily, and Kathryn.

The pushing itself felt strong but wonderful, to be honest, and I was almost disappointed when each wave subsided. I heard Lily say she could see the baby’s head, and we all moved to a birth stool- I couldn’t imagine making it into the tub and I was feeling good where we were. Bonnie held a mirror under me so I could watch our progress, which I didn’t think I would want but it was awesome to have. The baby’s head was coming, two steps forward with each push and one step back with each rest, and Lily reassured me I was stretching nicely. When she announced the baby’s head would come with the next push I didn’t believe her. But out it came, along with one hand pressed against his face!! Lily calmly slipped the cord over his neck and I fell back against Markus to rest. I heard Lilly say our baby would be born with the next push. I still didn’t believe her​, but sure enough his body slid right out at around 2:40pm.

In a quick fluid motion Lily lifted our baby to my chest and I said “It’s a boy!” We didn’t know the gender until that moment. Lily and Linda and Kathryn massaged my uterus and gave me a quick shot of Pitocin to help stop some extra blood flow and helped me rub our son down to get him breathing nicely. They moved me, Markus, and our baby to the bed as a unit and I sang to our baby while they helped deliver the placenta and stitched a small tear. They covered the lamp with some fabric so the light was nice and dim, and left us to cuddle and eat delivery sushi. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude, relief, and joy. Remembering Max’s birth I couldn’t and still cannot believe how lucky we are.

Our first minutes and hours with our son ​were spent ​in ​a magic bubble of calm, quiet, and safety. Words cannot express how grateful we are for the exceptional care we received and continue to be receiving from the Brooklyn Birthing Center​.

This spring, we devoted a lot of time to surveying our postpartum clients and reviewing their feedback. We were honored to receive some absolutely heartwarming testimonials— which we will be sharing on our blog over the next several weeks! BBC families: if you would like to post a testimonial or share your birth story, please contact [email protected].

“I felt taken care of, especially since this is my first child. I didn’t feel alone and during the birth. When I wanted to quit and go to the hospital the midwives encouraged me to keep going. I’m happy I did.” -Natasha

“The staff was incredible. I never felt that I could not have the birth I wanted or that I was incapable. The midwives made me feel very empowered … Yuen, Nicole, and Charlotte were absolutely incredible during my labor and especially post labor. They were sympathetic to my being a first time mom and never made me fell like my pain was exaggerated but at the same time I felt strengthened by them and comforted.” -Brand New Mom

“Everyone was so kind and showed great care for me and my baby. More than I could expect. Thank you very much for a great experience! And special BIG thanks for Linda!” -Happy Mama

A huge thank you to the clients who shared their feedback. These stories sum up everything we love about the midwifery model of care! Stay tuned for more testimonials and birth stories!

A lovely BBC mama agreed to share her birth story in honor of her son’s first birthday! Happy birthday, Ellis! 

As this was my second child, I kind of already knew what I was in for, and hopefully that also included a faster delivery this time around. My first baby, Maddie, took a whopping 23 hours to arrive, including 3 hours of active, exhausting pushing.

I was excited and calm once the contractions started. Being so far along, at some point you just want the birth to happen already. I spent the early contractions in the tub, trying to relax as much as possible. Then when they started getting serious, my husband called our birthing doula Nicole— always a calming force— to check in and update her on my process.

My contractions eventually started picking up the pace late in the evening and Nicole said it was time. So my husband called my mother-in-law to come stay with our toddler Maddie, already long asleep in her room, none-the-wiser to what was about to happen and how her world was about to be flipped upside down by the cutest bundle on its way.

From Nicole’s calculations, I was pretty far into active labor and needed to get to the Birthing Center ASAP. The plan was: she would take me in the Uber she had waiting outside and my husband would wait for his mother to arrive before meeting us there. Dressed in nothing but pajama pants and a pale blue cotton robe, I made my way to the waiting Uber with Nicole steadying me to the curb, stopping and breathing with me through each contraction, now coming down faster and more intense.

There wasn’t much traffic on the way, but there were POTHOLES, EVERYWHERE. And the driver seemed to unintentionally hit ALL of them on the way. Between the contractions and the potholes I was pretty certain this baby was going to fall out of me in the car. Nicole was in the backseat with me, her eyes reassuring me that NO, we would NOT birth this baby in the back of this car, not on her watch, as her voice said calmly, “that’s right, find your breathhhhh…”

About 17 excruciatingly long minutes later, we arrived at the Birthing Center and after an initial intake exam by the midwife on duty, we settled into the birthing room. They got the tub ready for me, after knowing I liked working through the contractions in the water the last time around. Finally my husband arrived and greeted me. I was in the tub facing down another set of contractions. Someone asked me if I wanted to BIRTH in the tub as well. I couldn’t focus on anyone’s words at that point as I another contraction washed over me.

At one point one of the midwives said, “if she’s going to give birth in there, there are some things we need to do first…” At that point between the pain of the contractions and feeling of something BIG about to happen I screamed out to no one in particular, “I DON’T CARE WHERE I BIRTH!!” Looking back on it now, that was definitely one of those Hollywood, screaming birthing lady moments. At that point I’m pretty sure my water broke. I felt a HUGE pressure, then a burst. Then a bit of relief. No one noticed because I was still in the tub.

After they helped me out of the water and onto the bed, they were all concerned that my water hadn’t broke yet. I told them about the pressure and burst and then everyone realized it had happened in the tub. Then within 10 mins (which for me felt more like like an hour), I had a few more contractions and then the urge to push and then, he was here. My son, Ellis Lightman, born 4am, April 6, 2015.