FAQs
The cost of the birth centre is $650+GST. This is not covered by Alberta Health Services.
If you have supplementary health insurance/benefits plan through your employer, this expense may be covered and reimbursed as a “Private Hospital Room.” It may also be claimable through Health/Wellness Spending Account. Please note: LBC does not direct bill to your insurance company and we have no information regarding what your plan will cover. Please call them directly to find out.
You can also deduct the birth centre fees from your income tax as a medical expense.
More details about fees and refunds here.
This fee includes use of the birthing suite on the day of your birth, all medical supplies, all linens, and a delicious home-made pumpkin spiced waffle breakfast complete with fruit & yogurt parfait and tea/coffee/juice for both the Birther and their Partner. Special dietary requests can be accommodated upon request. More details about our amenities here.
If you have supplementary health insurance/benefits plan through your employer, this expense may be submitted by you and reimbursed as a “Private Hospital Room” expense. It may also be claimable through your Health/Wellness Spending Account. **Please note: we do not direct bill to your insurance company and we have no information regarding what your plan will cover. Please call them directly to find out.
You can also claim the birth centre fees from your income tax as a medical expense.
Our registration process is simple! Once you’ve filled out the registration form, we will send you an invoice and a contract. Once your initial payment is made, you’re all set and you’ll receive email confirmation.
Our refund policy is very reasonable and is outlined here.
Our mission as a non-profit organization is to be accessible to everyone, especially those facing systematic and financial barriers in the birthing community. Through donations from people like you, we can offer subsidy for our birth centre fees for birthers facing these obstacles (people of colour, Indigenous birthers, LGBTQ+). You have the power to help someone have an empowered out-of-hospital birthing experience! Details about the fund are found here.
Yes, tours are by appointment only. Click here to see our upcoming tour dates and our virtual tour.
Only clients who have been accepted into care with a Registered Alberta Midwife can use the Birth Centre. Please apply for midwifery care here and select Lucina Birth Centre as your preferred location.
We do not have a limit on support people. Please speak directly to your midwife regarding their comfort levels with the number of people in the room during your labour & birth.
Registered Midwives are health care professionals who are highly trained to deal with all potential labour and delivery related emergencies. Lucina Birth Centre has all necessary neonatal resuscitation equipment and emergency medical supplies & medications on hand. When an emergency transfer is necessary, the Misericordia Community Hospital is 5 minutes from the centre. For more information please consult your midwife.
If you’re interested in our statistics (raw data analyzed from all births from opening in 2011 to Dec 2022, sample size 1827):
Birthing Rate: 82% of people who come to Lucina Birth Centre in labour actually give birth here
Hospital Transfer Rate: 18% of people who come to Lucina Birth Centre in labour transfer to hospital.
EMS Transfer Rate in Labour: 3.1% of people who transferred to hospital in labour used EMS transport (worth noting that majority of these were for pain-management and not a medical emergency). Most people who transfer are non-urgent and do drive to hospital in their own personal vehicles.
Postpartum Transfer Rate: 4.1% of birthers needed to be transported to hospital after birth for further care/monitoring.
Neonatal Transfer Rate: 1.9% of babies needed to be transported to hospital for further care/monitoring.
Water labour and birth provides a relaxing environment for the birthing person to be in while labouring and giving birth. This can lower blood pressure, reduce the feeling of pain, reduce the incidence of perineal tears, and offer a gentle space for the baby to be born. The baby is helped out of the water by the midwife, partner, or birth person them self. The baby will appear calm and relaxed and may cry less after delivery. Some people say that water birth is the natural epidural!
The most common pain relief option used at Lucina Birth Centre is the large water tubs. We also have exercise balls and peanut balls of various sizes, birth stools, birth sling/swing, Entonox (laughing gas), homeopathic and herbal remedies, intradermal water injections, and TENS machines. We do not provide narcotic injections such as morphine, fentanyl or epidural anesthesia.
After your baby is born, you will stay in your birthing room for about 3-4 hours. After you have eaten the delicious breakfast, showered and both you and baby have been assessed by your midwife, you will be discharged home. Your midwife will then arrange to see you at home the next day. In the event that you need to transfer to the hospital from the the birth centre, your midwife will arrange this by private car or ambulance depending on the situation. If you do need to transfer by ambulance, you will receive a bill in the mail from AHS.
Yes, we welcome cultural practice and religious/spiritual ceremonies.
We rely on the discretion of your skilled Registered Midwife to assess whether or not you’re a good candidate for an out-of-hospital birth. We do not ask you for any of this personal information. You and your midwife will decide, together, if the birth centre is a good fit for you and your pregnancy. If your midwife deems you eligible for an out-of-hospital birth, you’re welcome to register!