Plans move ahead for Forsyth birthing center after council zoning vote

Barring emergency circumstances or a home birth, it's been a long time since anyone was born in Monroe County.

The Monroe County Hospital stopped delivering babies through routine maternity services in late 1986.

After a Monday night vote by Forsyth City Council, though, it's possible that babies soon will be born in Monroe County again -- but at a new facility.

The council approved a conditional zoning variance for a birthing center -- a medical facility that offers a more homelike birth experience -- set to be built at 151 Martin Luther King Blvd. in Forsyth.

An obstetrician chose Forsyth as the site for the center, according to Planning & Zoning documents submitted by Macon-based Azar + Walsh Architects. Officials redacted the name of the doctor from a copy of the proposal, citing privacy concerns.

Council members approved the center's zoning variance 5-0. Forsyth Mayor Eric Wilson abstained from the vote, saying that being an owner of a private ambulance business posed a conflict of interest.

"There is a movement where a lot of people are not wanting to go to a sterile environment," Kamal Azar told council members Monday night. "They prefer doing it naturally."

The council's approval of the zoning change means Forsyth is one step closer to becoming Georgia's third city with a birthing center. Savannah and Atlanta also have them, Azar said.

"I think it would be great for the community," council member Michael Dodd said.

The single-story, 3,700-square-foot facility will be located about 500 feet from Monroe County Hospital.

"It's more having a baby at a home environment," Azar said.

The Macon architect said the center's rooms will look more residential and less like those found in a hospital.

The center will operate 24 hours a day, meaning that moms can deliver their babies and then stay a day at the center.

The center will be outfitted with two equipped birthing rooms staffed by OB-GYNs and one unfurnished birthing room, according to the proposal.

The next step will be for the architects to design building renderings and submit them to council's Design Review Board for approval, said Kristal Dunn, the Forsyth city clerk.

Monroe County Hospital CEO Kay Floyd said in a recent interview that birthing centers typically don't use surgical delivery techniques.

The center would draw women who want a more natural childbirth experience, she said.

"I can certainly see how that would appeal to women who are not a high-risk pregnancy."

Floyd said her hospital doesn't offer routine surgical services or an OB-GYN unit. However, the hospital has an emergency room, full-service labs and full-service imaging.

In the past, the hospital has delivered babies in emergency situations, though.

In Forsyth's neighboring counties -- Jones, Lamar and Crawford -- there's only one hospital, Floyd said, and there aren't any emergency rooms or urgent care centers.

This story was originally published March 22, 2016 at 2:47 PM with the headline "Plans move ahead for Forsyth birthing center after council zoning vote ."