Healthcare Design - September 2022 - 14

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D
URING HER PREGNANCY, Janhavi Nilekani, founder
and chairperson of the Aastrika Foundation, a Bangalore,
India-based non-governmental organization
working to improve maternal care across the
country, says she had to travel outside her hometown
to find the birthing experience she was seeking. Although
high-quality facilities exist, they typically
don't have the space or infrastructure that promote a
midwifery-led model of care. Furthermore, the hospitals tend to be more
clinical instead of offering mother-centric touches that help reduce stress
and support the best birthing outcomes.
Inspired by her experience, Nilekani, a development economist by training,
says she decided to create the foundation. In September 2021, the first
Aastrika Midwifery Center opened in Bangalore.
Designed by the Mumbai-based branch of Perkins Eastman, which delivered
the programming, planning, and interior design, the new facility
offers both outpatient and inpatient services, with a focus on promoting
natural childbirth through a midwifery model of care. " The goals were to
create a place where the design really supported the best health outcome
[and] to be a place that felt joyful and welcoming, " says Nilekani. " Birth is
not a disease. You're expanding or creating your family, and it should be a
place that feels positive, welcoming, and joyful. "
The new 5,300-square-foot center is set on the first floor of Vasavi Hospital,
a multispecialty hospital that includes obstetrics, a neonatal intensive
care unit, and surgical services-an arrangement that allowed both
institutions to mutually expand their offerings and provide the center
with access to emergency care, if needed.
The midwifery center houses two outpatient rooms
and a birthing unit comprising two labor and delivery
rooms and three antepartum/postpartum rooms with
space for expansion. A colorful corridor loops around a
centrally located nurses' station in the birthing unit and
serves as a labor lounge where women can stay active
during labor, a strategy that's been shown to lead to better
outcomes for mothers, Nilekani says.
The spacious 460-square-foot labor and delivery
rooms are placed on the periphery of the corridor so
MORE ONLINE: For additional images of the
project, visit HCDmagazine.com/projects/aastrikamidwifery-center.
ABOVE:
The private
birthing unit features a
looping corridor where
mothers are encouraged
to ambulate while in
early labor. Areas of
respite and nourishment
are included along the
path. RIGHT: Warm woods
paired with vibrant color
accents, as featured
here in the reception
area, is a design theme
that runs throughout the
birthing center. BELOW:
The spacious labor and
delivery rooms have
exercise equipment, like
a birthing ball and a
ceiling-mounted birth
rope, to support and
encourage the mother
through natural labor.
patients can benefit from natural light. Each
room features an ensuite bathroom, space for
exercise equipment (such as a ceiling-mounted
birth rope), and a tub for water births or immersion
for pain management. The room layouts
also integrate audio visual " sensory technology "
with calming imagery and specialty lighting-
marking a first in India. " The sensory technology
creates an immersive, calming environment for
the mother, supporting her while in labor, " says
Tania Phillips, associate principal at Perkins
Eastman (Mumbai), who led the project.
Interior design details add to the center's
warm, residential aesthetic, including wood materials
and pops of color. For example, vibrant vinyl
floors with blue, yellow, and green highlights
decorate the labor lounge corridor, while wood
paneling is featured in the nurses' station. Light
wood cabinetry in the patient rooms conceals
midwifery and medical equipment. " We wanted
women to be comfortable and to feel like this is
not an intimidating, clinical environment. The
cheerful interior was intended to raise the energy
level of the space to make both mothers and
midwives feel a little more energetic, " Phillips
says.-Joann Plockova, freelance writer
14
SEP TEMBER 2022
HCDMAGAZINE.COM
©SHAMANTH PATIL/COURTESY OF PERKINS EASTMAN
http://www.HCDmagazine.com/projects/aastrika-midwifery-center http://www.HCDMAGAZINE.COM
Healthcare Design - September 2022

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