title: Helping hospitals change: part 1: what childbirth educators can do.
abstract: Childbirth educators need to take the lead in helping hospitals change by teaching women what the evidence says. When women, one by one and collectively, start insisting on their right to have normal birth options, more bonding time, and better support of breastfeeding, hospitals and care providers will respond and change will happen. This article suggests strategies childbirth educators can use to advocate for women and help hospitals improve their maternity-care practices.
authors.affiliation: DEBRA BINGHAM is Director of Patient Care Services for Maternal-Child Health and Clinical Practice at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City.
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bingham