The usual place to give birth is a traditional hospital, where little is spared to ease any pain.

Now there’s an alternative, especially for natural childbirth advocates: the Zen Birthing Suite, a well-equipped room on Venice Boulevard opening this week that features soothing wall art and a bubbling fountain.

“It’s hip and it’s modern. It’s not like going to your grandmother’s house,” said Heather Wineland, chief executive of the Sanctuary Birth & Family Wellness Center, a Mar Vista company that offers midwife-assisted childbirth at home and operates the suite.

The 1,100-square-foot suite includes a kitchen, lounge and private bath; a place for women who spend on average about 12 hours in labor and up to six hours recovering. However, in case of emergency, the woman can be taken to a nearby hospital.

The facility isn’t the only one of its kind in the greater L.A. area. The Natural Birth & Women’s Center of Sherman Oaks is among the best-known local birthing centers.

“There seems to be lots of them opening up,” said Claudia Breglia, president of the California Association of Midwives, a San Francisco-based professional group.

Neither home-birthing nor the suite is cheap.

Generally, insurance covers all of the costs of a hospital birth, but Sanctuary patients must front the $5,000 to $6,000 costs of home births and seek partial reimbursement from their insurance later. Giving birth at the suite adds $1,000 to the cost.