AABC Issues Position Statement on "Advanced Birth Centers"

Florida has established a new facility classification under its birth center licensure law called the “Advanced Birth Center.”   These facilities would provide medical inductions of labor and cesarean births, in addition to vaginal births.  This is not a birth center.  This designation directly conflicts with existing national standards and birth center licensure laws in Florida and nationwide.

This week, AABC issued a position statement opposing the use of the name “birth center” for a facility that does not meet the definition or requirements of a birth center, a model of care that has been thoroughly studied and evaluated over the past 40 years. Naming a healthcare facility an “Advanced birth center” implies that providing cesareans and inductions enhances its quality over the established, high-value midwifery-led model

The 'Advanced Birth Center' will cause confusion among consumers, physicians, other providers, hospitals, and insurance and Medicaid payers. Using the birth center name this way risks undermining the highly effective evidence-based birth center model. 

Read the AABC Position Statement: ”Advanced Birth Centers” Are Not Birth Centers.