Birth Centers The purpose of this paper is to su

Birth centers are commonly defined as nonhospital facilities that provide maternity services for women medically judged as being at low risk for obstetric complications (Rooks, Ernst & Weatherby, 1992). These centers have become a part of accepted medical practice in both the United States and other countries. Indeed, according to Scupholme, DeJoseph, Strobino and Paine (1992), there are over 115 free-standing birth centers currently in operation in the United States; and these are located across several different kinds of locations including urban, suburban, rural and inner-city areas.

In the United States, birth centers have been associated with several positive outcomes. These can be delineated as follows:

1.Birth Centers Have Very Low Rates of Maternal Death. Rooks, Weatherby, Ernst, Stapelton, Rosen and Rosenfield's (1989) examination of birth center intrapartum outcomes revealed that those women who had no complications delivered infants of at least average birth weight about 94 percent of the time with no maternal deaths. Very few women required an analgesic, s

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women at lowest risk...The results of this study provide support for the National Birth Center Study's conclusion that birth centers offer a safe and acceptable alternative for selected pregnant women. (p. 3331) Quality of prenatal care is believed to be responsible for the high incidence of normal-weighted infant births and the low incidence of infant and maternal mortality associated with birth centers. In this regard, Schimmel, Hogan, Boehler, DiFelice, Cooney and Schimmel (1992) reported that most birth centers employ nurse-midwives as supportive personnel in providing prenatal care to expectant mothers. The authors state that through the excellent delivery of patient education and counseling services, the midwives elevate mothers' attendance at prenatal visits and their adherence to the recommendations and suggestions of their doctors. Summary This paper examined birth center data pursuant to a decision of a large private tertiary care hospital to construct a free-standing birth center one mile away from the hospital. The paper noted that birth centers were associated with several positive outcomes including: low rates of maternal death, less unneeded techno-medical intervention, high rates of normal-weighted infant
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Approximate Word count = 2191
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)

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