About AABC

The American Association of Birth Centers is a multi-disciplinary membership organization comprised of freestanding birth centers, alongside midwifery units, individuals and organizations that support the birth center model.  

For 40 years, the American Association of Birth Centers has been the nation's most comprehensive resource on birth centers. AABC has built a solid foundation for growth in birth centers by:

• Promoting state regulations
• Advocating for sustainable insurance reimbursement
• Developing a quality improvement program
• Establishing national standards
• Establishing recognized accreditation through the Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers
• Providing an annual forum for discussion of issues
• Educating parents, professionals, and policy-makers to the birth center concept
• Conducting major research
• Providing national dataset to inform evidence-based practice

Mission

AABC promotes and supports freestanding birth centers and alongside midwifery units in all communities to achieve a high-value model of evidence-based care that is equitable, safe, and respectful. 

Vision

Midwifery-led birth center model of care with cultural humility is accessible to all communities.

Core Values

• Anti-Racism - We commit to dismantling the foundation of structural racism and white supremacy that plagues our healthcare system while striving for equity.

• Cultural Humility - We affirm the value inherent in all people inclusive of their religion, gender, sexual identity or cultural identity.

• Inclusiveness - We hold space for the intersectionality of our members, consumers and other stakeholders.

• Research - We produce and promote ongoing research to uphold evidence-based care through contributions and access to the national AABC Perinatal Data Registry ™.

• Standards - We foster excellence through the development and maintenance of evidence-based standards for the birth center model of care.

• Education - We develop and provide educational offerings and programs related to the birth center model of care.

• Advocacy - We strategically champion and inform relevant policy issues at the national, state and local levels.

• Community - We provide a supportive and respectful space for networking, across midwifery credentials, personnel, and birth center models.