Natural Birth Rooms

Welcome to the Natural Birth Center at the Shamir Medical Center (Assaf Harofeh).

The Natural Birth Center is located next to the delivery rooms in the Women and Maternity Division, and allows you to choose your preferred natural birthing method.

We offer a home-like birth experience without medical intervention, in a calm and supportive environment, accompanied by your loved ones and, if desired, a birth companion (doula).

In our Natural Birth Center, birth takes place without medication-based pain relief.

he two new rooms — “Eden” and “Nitzan” — are fully equipped for safe natural birth, including a large bathtub for water birth (with special lighting), a shower, physioball, peanut ball, birthing rope, Swedish ladder, birth stool, adjustable lighting, and multimedia system.

Experienced midwives guide you throughout the process, with minimal medical intervention, recommending suitable positions and natural pain-relief methods. The midwife will guide your companions in massage and support techniques, enabling them to be active participants in pain relief and the overall birth experience.

It is important to note that the center ensures all safety measures are in place. If medical intervention is needed, the nearby medical staff can step in immediately.

The delivery can be done in any position chosen by the mother, including water birth. The newborn’s pulse is monitored by a wireless fetal monitor, and we encourage delayed cord clamping, skin-to-skin contact, and initiation of breastfeeding in the delivery room.

Who Can Have a Natural Birth?

  • Women with a normal pregnancy between weeks 37–41
  • No preeclampsia
  • No gestational diabetes
  • No fetal risk factors, e.g., intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) or suspected macrosomia
  • Single-baby pregnancy

The medical team confirms eligibility before labor.

Admission to the Natural Birth Center is based on availability and requires signing an informed consent form beforehand. If the natural birth rooms are occupied, natural birth can still be supported in the regular delivery rooms.

We will make every effort to ensure that you give birth naturally, as you have chosen, and that you remember the birth as an empowering, emotional, and safe experience, surrounded by love, warmth, and professional care from your family and our team.