Kreis Plön has no maternity ward since the closure of the delivery unit at Preetz Clinic. Birth houses provide a natural alternative to hospital births. They emphasize intervention-free deliveries but receive mixed reviews from experts regarding safety.
Kreis Plön currently lacks a maternity ward after the delivery room at Preetz Clinic closed. More and more labor wards in Schleswig-Holstein are shutting down, posing new challenges for expectant parents. Birth houses offer an alternative, focusing on natural births without medical interventions.
"Out-of-hospital midwifery is better than its reputation," emphasizes Anke Bertram, chair of the Midwives Association Schleswig-Holstein. These facilities adhere to strict quality management and require prerequisites such as an unremarkable medical history and an uncomplicated pregnancy.
Midwife Susanne Dahlinger from Heikendorf, who works at the Schön Clinic in Rendsburg, highlights the advantages: Birth houses feel cozier and more familiar. Expectant mothers get to know the attending midwives in advance, there are no shift changes during labor, and more options like birth ropes or birthing pools are available.
However, there are drawbacks. In emergencies, no medical team is on site, pain relief is limited in dosage, and labors cannot be induced. "It's important that the birth house is near a clinic," says Dahlinger. Chief physician André Hohn of the women's clinic at the Municipal Hospital Kiel warns: "A birth in a birth house or at home can be a wonderful experience. But one must weigh the risk that it can have fatal consequences if something goes wrong."
More birth houses would not solve the strained supply situation, as they do not increase safety and cannot handle high-risk pregnancies, according to Hohn.
Schleswig-Holstein has four birth houses: in Lübeck (about 1.3 km to UKSH), Bad Oldesloe (1 km to Asklepios Clinic), Twedt (11.4 km to Helios Clinic Schleswig, since March 2025), and Flensburg (2.4 km to Diako Hospital). None exist in Kreis Plön or Kiel (closed in 2014). All offer preparation courses, postpartum recovery, and breastfeeding support.
Home births with freelance midwives are also possible but carry risks, as Hohn notes.
