Antenatal care.

Women who are aiming to give birth at the Birth Center are also offered to stay with us in antenatal care. Antenatal care begins at 34 weeks' gestation and then takes over from antenatal care that has previously been provided by a midwife in health care. 

We give ourselves plenty of time for contraception and always book about 40-60 minutes for each woman/couple. Antenatal care discusses well-being and health, expectations for the birth and more. At each check-up, blood pressure is measured and urine protein is checked. The fetal heart rate is monitored and the size of the uterus is measured from the pelvis to the base of the uterus. At 36 weeks' gestation, the baby's position is assessed.

The needs of both parents are assessed in each examination and we place great emphasis on education and counseling. These include education about well-being, diet, exercise, the services available to expectant parents, choice of place of birth, preparation for the birth, birth control, breastfeeding, the postpartum period and more. Ultrasound examinations and other fetal examinations are offered as needed in collaboration with the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Landspítali.

We advise you to contact us here as soon as possible after you make the decision to aim for a birth at the Reykjavík Birth Center or if you are considering that possibility.

More information about appointments will come soon.

Birth services.

Women who use the maternity care services of the Reykjavík Birth Center are a group that consists primarily of healthy women in a normal pregnancy without risk factors. This is the majority of pregnancy women.

The guidelines on the choice of birthplace published by the Icelandic Directorate of Health in 2007 will be used. The guidelines on how women should be advised on the choice of birthplace are well-defined and all recommendations and contradictions are reported. 

Arrangements for giving birth at the Reykjavík Birth Center work in such a way that expectant parents contact the midwives of the birth center as soon as possible during pregnancy in order to be able to attend antenatal visits at the birth center towards the end of their pregnancy. In these four to five antenatal visits, the midwife will work purposefully to get to know the expectant parents and find out their needs in order to be able to provide the encouragement they need and support them during labor and childbirth. At the birth itself, two midwives will be present, and after about 4 to 8 hours after giving birth at the birth center, the family goes home. The midwife then visits them at their home to provide home care services on the same day. In this way, the continuity of midwifery care services is achieved throughout the childbearing process, which supports quality and professional care of the family.  

If needed, your midwife will recommend a transfer to a nearby hospital, such as Landspitali University Hospital or Akranes women’s clinic. Research shows that such transfers are usually not emergency transfers and most women will transfer in their own car and not by ambulance. The Reykjavik Birth center midwives will continue their care for you and your family postpartum in your home to ensure continuity of care whenever possible. 

The services at the Reykjavik Birth Center are free of charge for anyone insured in Iceland. Sjúkratryggingar Íslands will pay for your birth. To see the cost of all our services and classes, please click here! 

You can book an appointment to discuss whether a birth at the Reykjavik Birth Center is right for you or send us an email.

Home care.

Postpartum home care is available to all women for the first 10 days after giving birth, whether they give birth at the Birth Center or elsewhere. Contact us here for more information about the service.

In the first days after birth, a midwife will come to your home to provide you with education and support, assist with breastfeeding and monitor the well-being of mother and child. The education is health-promoting, encourages self-confidence in the role of the parent and increases parents' insight into the symptoms of possible deviations and / or problems. Midwives' home visits are always individualized and therefore different and depend on the needs of the mother and child at each time. 

A midwife in home care respects the attitudes, desires, beliefs, and values ​​of women and their families. The different cultural backgrounds and special circumstances of the mother and family are always taken into account at any given time, such as the need for interpreting services or other specialized support. 

A midwife in home care gives you good advice regarding the care of the child and information on where you can go if further treatment or follow-up is needed. She also supports you in your adjustment to parenting. 

Midwives' home care after childbirth is free of charge for parents and midwives receive full payment from the Icelandic Health Insurance (Sjúkratryggingar Íslands). The midwives of the Birth Clinic follow the professional guidelines for home midwifery services from the year 2014 published by the Office of the Medical Director of Health. https://www.landlaeknir.is/um-embaettid/greinar/grein/item14900/Heimathjonusta-ljosmaedra