The childbearing center: an alternative birth setting.

A number of reports have noted the trend toward home deliveries. With the aim of providing an alternative to unattended home delivery, an out-of-hospital unit for women at low medical risk was opened in New York City in October 1975. Physical care is provided by a team of nurse-midwives, obstetricians, pediatricians, and ancillary health personnel. Childbirth education is an integral part of the program. Women are carefully screened both initially and during the course of pregnancy, and transfers are made to hospital services when required. In the first 31 months of the program, 244 births were managed in the unit. No life-threatening emergencies have occurred. Experience to date indicates that a unit of this kind can safely offer care to a low-risk obstetric population.