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Hospital Transfer

Plans for handling the unexpected are essential for the best outcomes

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A healthy mother and healthy baby is everyone’s top priority. Sometimes, even the healthiest mothers and babies need help, which is why midwives always have a plan for hospital transfer, if needed. Good care means having a solid plan for handling an unexpected emergency.

Transfer Hospitals

We are not affiliated with any particular hospital. Federal EMTALA law protects your right to be evaluated at the hospital in an emergency situation. As midwives, we are required to have a plan for emergency and non-emergency transfers. The local hospitals have been very welcoming to us and to our clients. Winchester Medical Center, Inova Fair Oaks, and Inova Fairfax Hospital are our main transfer hospitals.

We're prepared

A healthy mother and healthy baby is everyone’s top priority. Sometimes, even the healthiest mothers and babies need help, which is why midwives always have a plan for hospital transfer, if needed. Good care means having a solid plan for handling an unexpected emergency.

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We Stay With You​

In the event of a transfer, your midwife remains with you and your baby, continuing to provide care until care transfers to the receiving physician at the hospital. Your midwife or nurse will remain with you at the hospital as a support person until you decide you are comfortable with us leaving. Once you are released from the hospital, we are able to resume our usual postpartum care and baby care.


How We Prepare for Emergencies

During your care with us, we discuss hospital transfers and what to expect if that does happen. As an accredited birth center, we are required to do emergency drills at least once per quarter. We also are all trained in Neonatal Resuscitation (NRP) and CPR. All staff members (even our office manager) are required to do drills and all clinical staff complete NRP and CPR at least once every two years. 
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Our emergency drills are simulations of the most common obstetrical emergencies, including postpartum hemorrhage, shoulder dystocia, cord prolapse, and neonatal resuscitation. We simulate these emergencies both for waterbirth and "land birth." This gives us an opportunity to continue to improve our teamwork and prompt handling of emergencies when they happen.
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All emergency equipment at Premier Birth Center is checked before and after every birth. Our staff are able to provide neonatal resuscitation (bag-mask and laryngeal mask airway), and administer emergency medications, if needed, including oxygen, IV fluids, and antihemorrhagic medications (oxytocin and misoprostol). 

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