Search

Written for graduate students and professionals in the fields of midwifery, women's health, and public health, this book explores the freestanding birth center model in the United States from its conception by pioneering midwives and others in the early 1970s to the present day. Compared to the hospital-based birth model, the freestanding birth center offers a well-documented, healthier, more cost-effective, and more humane way to care for women and newborns, consistent with the goals of the Affordable Care Act. This rapidly expanding model of care has many positive implications for high-quality, individualized care and birth outcomes across the United States.Written by U.S. leaders in midwifery, Freestanding Birth Centers: Innovation, Evidence, Optimal Outcomes offers a comprehensive guide to the evolving role of birth centers, clinical and cost outcomes, regulatory and legal issues, provider and accreditation issues, and the future of the birth center model. Woven throughout the text are descriptions of'exemplar'birth centers representing diverse geographical, business, and service models. These cases illustrate the possibilities for expansion and replication of this model of care.Key FeaturesProvides a thorough history of the birth center movement from its inception through future expansion of the modelServes as an essential resource with up-to-date evidence on clinical and cost outcomesIncludes case studies linking the unique service focus of individual birth centers to the associated sections of the bookProvides practical and comprehensive coverage of all issues involved in running a U.S. birth center

This is the only book to present the evidence-based policies and procedures that medical and non-medical staff can use to develop Mother-Friendly Care in their facilities. The Mother-Friendly Childbirth Initiative (MFCI), developed by the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services (CIMS), is a wellness model designed to improve birth outcomes and substantially reduce costs. It is an evidence-based mother-, baby-, and family-friendly model that focuses on prevention and wellness as alternatives to high-cost screening, diagnosis, and treatment programs. The MFCI is the first and only consensus document on U.S. maternity care and is recognized as an important instrument for change in the U.S. and abroad. The book is based on research and evidence developed by CIMS and includes 10 protocols, each with detailed policies and procedures and supporting information and resources that help implement the change to Mother-Friendly Care. Each protocol is authored and reviewed by recognized leaders in a variety of childbirth and maternity care arenas. The book traces the development of Mother-Friendly Care and describes its core tenets along with supporting statistical information. These tenets eschew practices not supported by scientific evidence. The manual includes implementation strategies for the evidence-based nursing care training programs of such organizations as Lamaze, ICEA, and AWHONN, and supports the WHO-Unicef'Ten Steps of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative'to promote successful breastfeeding. Key Features:Provides evidence-based policies and procedures for developing Mother-Friendly Care in maternity care facilities Presents specific guidelines that can be used as a standard to measure Mother-Friendliness and subsequently used for marketing purposes Designed to provide childbirth educators and doulas with guidelines for promoting Mother-Friendly Care to birthing women Assists nurses who want to promote more rapid change on their units toward Mother-Friendly Care Supports the WHO-UNICEF'Ten Steps of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative'to promote successful breastfeeding