Welcome to learning about the unique qualities offered women in choosing a birth center for childbirth.

A free standing birth center is an ambulatory facility providing a homey like place for women who are healthy and low risk wanting physiologic childbirth without medical interventions or anesthesia.  Birthing centers are predominantly led by midwives following the midwifery model of care providing individualized exceptional prenatal care that includes counseling and educating in areas of nutrition, childbirth, lactation, mental health and parenting in a warm and shared decision making environment.

Quality and safe care for mother and newborn, better outcomes and high patient satisfaction, at a lower cost, have all been realized in the birth center model of care   Birth Center Study II.

Birth centers are licensed or regulated in 47 states and follow the standards established by the American Association of Birth Centers (AABC) with strict adherence to practice and protocols of clinical guidelines, governance, administration, facility design, and quality assurance. Birth centers may attain accreditation by the Commission of Accreditation of Birth Centers (CABC) based on meeting these standards.  Accreditation provides an important assurance to all stakeholders including states, insurers,  providers, hospitals and consumers that a birth center meets the highest standard of excellence in evidence based medicine for mom and baby. 

Births in birthing centers represent a small number in the United States (over 20,000 births) in 370 birth centers. It has been shown that many equally rich countries rank among the highest in better outcomes using midwives and birth centers as primary choices for women. The increase of almost 100% in the number of birth centers in the past 7 years and surveys of women’s preference of a birth center demonstrates the high consumer trend in alternative and physiologic childbirth.

Birth center outcomes reduces costs for insurance plans and purchasers of insurance by decreasing cesarean sections, preterm births, and NICU admissions. 

The US spends more per childbirth than any other country in the world. High costs of hospital stay, cesarean sections, NICU admissions, ED visits have increased costs to members in higher premiums and out of pocket responsibility. An average childbirth will cost a family  $4167 with employer sponsored insurance. Birth centers fulfill the need of a maternity model for low risk women out of the hospital at less cost and benefit in high savings for better outcomes.

Integral Healthcare for Women is moving freestanding birthing centers into the forefront of choices for childbirth as a safe option out of the hospital.