So now let's talk about the research on birth centers. I want to focus on the national

birth center study too because this is the largest and most recent study on birth center care

in the United States. The purpose of this study was to describe the current outcomes of birth

centers across America. The researchers enrolled more than 22,000 people who were planning

to give birth in a birth

center when they registered for prenatal care at 79 birth centers across the United

States between the years 2007 and 2010.

The majority of birth centers in the study were accredited by the CABC and people were cared

for by certified nurse midwives, 80% of the clients.

Certified professional midwives and licensed midwives, 14%,

or teams made up of all three types of midwives, which was 6%.

People who were pregnant were enrolled during their first prenatal visit

and followed through pregnancy, birth, and for up to six weeks postpartum.

So this was a high-quality prospective observational study.

The final study sample was made up of more than 15,000 people who ended up planning labor

at the birth center at the start of labor.

They were mostly Caucasian, and most of them were between the ages of 18 and 34.

They were eligible to give birth at a birth center if they were pregnant with a single baby, if they reached full term, if the baby was in headfirst position, and if there were no other major medical respectors.

In the end, the researchers only looked at

outcomes for the people who, by the end of pregnancy, were still planning to go to the birth center.

Most of the clients were married, 80% of them, and 72% had at least some college education.

So this was a pretty well-educated cohort. About half of them were pregnant with their first baby

...