The Best Hospitals in Nashville to Birth Naturally in | Nashville Birth Videographer & Photographer
When it comes to birthing naturally, there are many things to consider. Finding a hospital that supports this decision well isn’t as easy as many think. And it goes beyond choosing your OB. You need the system to support your birth plans and you need to build a team that will get you to the other side.
Being in a hospital, drugs are just a request away. It is so easy to give in and get an epidural. Im not here to shame that decision, in fact … I think there is a time and place to get an epidural that can actually prevent C-section.
But so many first time moms are so unaware of the journey they are going to be on and so they may unintentionally back themselves into a corner in their birth and actually provide their own path to the wrong birth plan.
Not only that, but a hospital that is intervention heavy can lead to a traumatic birth. There are a few amazing documentaries to watch on your journey with birth as well. The Business of Being Born and Why Not Home are very good - even if you are having a hospital birth! A new Birth Documentary is coming out Fall of 2026 and it is called. Allowed To Birth. Knowing the whole spectrum of birth allows for you to make good informed decisions about your own birth.
Choosing an OB and a hospital that supports you matters a lot. Not just because you want a certain birth outcome, but because your birth affects SO much of your postpartum, how to feel as a new mother, and how healthy your baby’s first years are. Drugs affect their development and their path in life. If those first few months they are a difficult baby due to birth trauma etc and on top of that, as a mother, you begin motherhood feeling like a failure from your birth experience… then that first year of motherhood can be so trying on you and your relationship with your husband and child.
The Best Hospitals to birth at in Nashville:
Hands down, Stonecrest Medical Center is THE most supportive of natural birth in the Nashville area. I have been to births at Centennial, St Thomas Midtown, and have had my own baby at Vanderbilt. P.S. I haven’t met a doula or midwife that likes Williamson Medical Center. I would avoid this hospital at all costs. Stonecrest as a system supports women having natural birth in the best ways. It’s as close to a home birth as you can get in a hospital setting. They won’t panic about things other hospitals tend to panic about too early. They give moms so much time and space to move and labor. If mom is offered to break her water etc and she says no, they say “okay no problem” and literally leave the room. I truly feel that they will only panic or urge mom to do something when it’s absolutely necessary.
The 2nd and 3rd best hospitals are Centennial and St Thomas Midtown. I have been to births at both and they are not nearly as easy to birth at as Stonecrest but still really good.
Let’s talk specifics of how Stonecrest supports natural birth.
Natural Birth Support and Environment:
Customized birth plans: Nurses document specific preferences like music, aromatherapy, and movement.
Low-intervention focus: Staff respects patient autonomy and avoid pushing unneeded interventions.
Comfort tools: Rooms feature birth balls, peanut balls, and showers usable for water therapy.
We know that when there are less interventions, then birth outcomes are better. Natural birth is far more likely.
I think if you wanted another layer of support in your plan to birth naturally, hiring Diana Health Midwives as your provider is the best way to carry out that plan.
Let’s look at the C-section rates in the Nashville area:
Stonecrest hospital with OB: 26%
Stonecrest hospital with Midwife: 12-22%
Vanderbilt Hospital: 30%
Vanderbilt Birth Center: 15%
St Thomas Midtown OB care: 29%
St Thomas with a midwife: 12%
Centennial OB care: 30%
Centennial with a midwife: Not tracked
One of the best ways to have a natural birth, REGARDLESS of where you birth, is to hire a doula. Large-scale reviews and Medicaid data analyses indicate that births with doula care have a C-section rate roughly 39% to 47% lower than standard care without a doula. I have written a few blogs about Doula care. What to look for when choosing a doula and The Best Doulas in the Nashville Area.These blogs are created to guide you through choosing a doula that fits well for you and your birth plans.
If you decide to hire someone to capture your birth. I would LOVE to be considered. You can find more about my birth videography and photography here!
