Birth centers are…

Safe

•

Evidence-Based

•

Inclusive

•

Normal

•

Safe • Evidence-Based • Inclusive • Normal •

A health care facility for childbirth where the midwifery-led support of physiologic birth and newborn transition are the exclusive model of care.

Freestanding, and is not a hospital or a wing in a hospital.

An integrated part of the health care system.

Guided by principles of prevention, respect, safety, appropriate medical intervention and cost-effectiveness.

Able to provide immediate emergency measures for parents and babies with trained staff and appropriate emergency equipment.

Colorado has seven (and growing) birth centers that: 

  • are licensed and regulated by the Colorado Department for Public Health and Environment (CDPHE)

  • have written policies and procedures that reflect standard quality assurance measures

  • can set different standards, and vary in accessibility as a result

  • have relationships with other community health agencies for complementary services

  • arrange for referral and transfer to other levels of care as needed

  • have access to an acute care obstetrical/newborn units nearby hospitals

  • are staffed by midwives with any of the three state-regulated credentials (CPM, CM, CNM)

  • are a mix of hospital and independently owned; Seasons is the first independent non-profit birth center in the state.

  • serve Colorado's most populous cities but draw people from all over; a Pueblo birth center will fill an important gap in the South and Southeast part of the state

  • are reimbursed by Medicaid, but the majority of birth centers are not enrolled due to low reimbursement rates limiting access to this model for Medicaid members

“The midwifery-led birth centers succeeded in providing benefits to families, the health system, and taxpayers by improving a series of fundamental health outcomes relative to usual approaches to maternity care. Given that Medicaid covered 42 percent of the nation’s births in 2018, including 65 percent of Black and 59 percent Hispanic births, advancing this model for lower-medical-risk Medicaid enrollees could have an enormous impact on our nation’s maternal and infant health crises.

— Improving Our Maternity Care Now: Four Care Models Decisionmakers Must Implement for Healthier Moms and Babies