As hospitals make changes to make care less costly and more convenient, labor and delivery is following emergency departments as the newest areas to be redone, according to an article on the Hospital and Health Networks website.
More babies are being delivered in birth centers — a more homelike setting with midwives and emphasizing wellness.
The Affordable Care Act and consumer-minded mothers are fueling the trend, according to the article.
“I think, as more hospitals see it as advantageous to open birth centers, we will see an increase because we’re at a tipping point," said Kate Bauer, executive director of the American Association of Birth Centers.
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