AABC Member Birth Centers Recognized for Excellence in ACNM’s 2024 Benchmarking Project

Twenty member birth centers were recognized for their exemplary outcomes in the 2024 ACNM Benchmarking project. Each year, the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) asks midwifery practices with certified nurse-midwives (CNMs) or certified midwives (CMs) to participate in the ACNM Benchmarking Project. The purpose of this project is to gather and use data to monitor, maintain, and improve the quality of midwifery care.

Best Practices are named based on the data reported by the practice being one of the top three practices in that category. The purpose of naming “best practice” is to recognize practices that are performing well. Perhaps more importantly, it provides the opportunity to know which practices to contact to discuss how to improve performance. By networking with “best practices”, you can learn how to modify your practice processes to achieve better outcomes on quality indicators.

Practices are in categories based on practice volume by number of births per year: low ≤ 50, low moderate 51-199, high moderate 200-499, and high ≥ 500. For some volume groups, it is impossible to determine best practice for certain indicators. In the low-volume group there are many practices achieving 100% breastfeeding rates and 0% cesarean birth rates.

Labor & Birth Outcomes

Spontaneous vaginal birth rate

• MidwifeSunday Wellness & Birth Center – Potsdam, NY
• Sunday Smith – Potsdam, NY
• Twin Cities Birth Center – Saint Paul, MN

 Primary cesarean rate

• Beginnings Birth Center – Colorado Springs, CO
• MidwifeSunday Wellness & Birth Center – Potsdam, NY
• Sunday Smith – Potsdam, NY
• Twin Cities Birth Center – Saint Paul, MN

 Rate of cesarean birth among nulliparous women with a term, singleton baby in a vertex position (NTSV)

• Beginnings Birth Center – Colorado Springs, CO
• Sunday Smith – Potsdam, NY

 Rate of postpartum hemorrhage

• Sunday Smith – Potsdam, NY
• Tree of Life Family Birth Center – Jeffersonville, IN

Perineal Outcomes

Rate of women with intact perineum (perineum is intact or only small laceration(s) not requiring repair)

• MidwifeSunday Wellness and Birth Center – Potsdam, NY
• Tree of Life Family Birth Center – Jeffersonville, IN

 3^rd or 4^th degree laceration rate

• Tree of Life Family Birth Center – Jeffersonville, IN

Infant Outcomes

Rate of low birth weight (infants from a singleton birth born weighing less than 2500 grams)

• Tree of Life Family Birth Center – Jeffersonville, IN

Rate of NICU Admissions of infants born from a singleton birth (any admission to a level 2 or level 3 nursery for any length of time)

• Sunday Smith – Potsdam, NY

Postpartum Outcomes

Rate of women breastfeeding at their 6-week postpartum visit

• Midwifery Center at TMC El Rio Health – Tucson, AZ
• Minnesota Birth Center – Minneapolis, MN
• Tree of Life Family Birth Center – Jeffersonville, IN

Resource Utilization Outcomes

Rate of epidurals used for pain relief during labor (not including epidurals placed only for anesthesia for operative delivery)

• Beginnings Birth Center – Colorado Springs, CO
• Holy Family Birth Center – Fort Wayne, IN
• Tree of Life Family Birth Center – Jeffersonville, IN

“Triple Aim” Best Practice

• Primary cesarean birth rate < 23.9%
• Preterm birth rate < 11.4%
• Exclusive breastfeeding first 48 hours > 81%
• Reporting fiscal outcomes

“Triple Aim” Best Practice recognizes practices which meet the Institute for Healthcare Improvement “Triple Aim” of improving the patient experience, reducing cost of care, and improving the health of populations. This is demonstrated by high breastfeeding rates, low preterm birth and cesarean rates, and reporting fiscal variables. Of the 181 practices participating in the 2024 ACNM Benchmarking Project, 40 practices were designated Triple Aim Best Practices. Almost half of the 40 practices are AABC members.

1. Beginnings Birth Center – Colorado Springs, CO
2. Birth Center of Baton Rouge – Baton Rouge, LA*
3. Birth Center of Chicago – Chicago, IL*
4. Birth Center of Denver at Saint Joseph Hospital – Denver, CO*
5. BirthCare & Women’s Health, Ltd – Alexandria, VA
6. Bloomin’ Babies Birth Center – Grand Junction, CO
7. Holy Family Birth Center – Fort Wayne, IN*
8. Mat-Su Midwifery and Family Health – Wasilla, AK*
9. Midtown Nurse Midwives – Sacramento, CA*
10. MidwifeSunday Wellness and Birth Center – Potsdam, NY*
11. Minnesota Birth Center – Minneapolis, MN*
12. Perkin Alternative Birth Center – New Orleans, LA
13. Reading Midwife Center for Women’s Wellness, LLC – Reading, PA*
14. The Midwife Center for Birth and Women’s Health – Pittsburgh, PA*
15. Tree of Life Family Birth Center – Jeffersonville, IN*
16. Twin Cities Birth Center – Saint Paul, MN*
17. Wichita Falls Birth and Wellness Center – Wichita Falls, TX*

*Earned designation for consecutive years

“4 Core” Best Practice – Four Core Perinatal Measures

• Induction of labor <10%
• Primary cesarean birth rate <15%
• Episiotomy <2%
• Exclusive breastfeeding after first 48 hours >75%

These four measures are harmonized with the National Quality Forum (NQF) and Joint Commission perinatal quality measures. The “4 Core” designation has been designed to acknowledge practices achieving nationally established benchmarks for physiologic birth. Of the 181 practices participating in the 2024 ACNM Benchmarking project, there are 16 practices that achieved all four benchmarks, nearly half of which are AABC members.

1. Birth Center of Chicago – Chicago, IL*
2. Birth Center of Denver at Saint Joseph Hospital – Denver, CO*
3. Gaia Midwives – Smithtown, NY
4. Holy Family Birth Center – Fort Wayne, IN*  
5. Midtown Nurse Midwives – Sacramento, CA*
6. MidwifeSunday Wellness and Birth Center – Potsdam, NY*
7. Wichita Falls Birth and Wellness Center – Wichita Falls, TX*

*Earned designation for consecutive years

For over a decade, AABC has collaborated with the American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) to bring more data-driven information to birth centers to help childbearing people and babies. For AABC members entering their data in the AABC Perinatal Data Registry™ (PDR), a simple consent form sent to PDR-contributing practices at the beginning of each year is all that is needed to share their PDR data with the ACNM Benchmarking Project.