title: The American Association of Birth Centers: history, membership, and current initiatives.
abstract: The American Association of Birth Centers (AABC) is a multidisciplinary membership organization dedicated to the birth center model of care. This article reviews the history, membership, and current policy initiatives of the AABC. The history of AABC includes the promotion of research, education, and national and state policies that are supportive of birth center care. Current AABC priorities address three main pressures to birth center sustainability: high malpractice insurance rates, the lack of a federally mandated birth center facility fee, and low rates of certified nurse-midwife/certified midwife reimbursement. The AABC is addressing these concerns through lobbying, collaborating with other national organizations, and the promotion of birth research.
authors.affiliation: Julia C. Phillippi, CNM, MSN, is a lecturer at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, TN, and a PhD student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. She practices on a locum tenens basis with the Women's Wellness & Maternity Center and Lisa Ross Birth & Women's Center in Knoxville, TN.Jill Alliman, CNM, MSN, is the Center Director for Women's Wellness & Maternity Center, an accredited nonprofit birth center in Madisonville, TN, where she has provided full scope care for more than 22 years. She is Chair of the Legislative Committee and former President of the American Association of Birth Centers.Kate Bauer, MBA, is the Executive Director of the American Association of Birth Centers, located in Perkiomenville, PA, and the Project Administrator of the AABC Uniform Data Set.
authors.forename: Julia C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Phillippi
authors.affiliation: Julia C. Phillippi, CNM, MSN, is a lecturer at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, TN, and a PhD student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. She practices on a locum tenens basis with the Women's Wellness & Maternity Center and Lisa Ross Birth & Women's Center in Knoxville, TN.Jill Alliman, CNM, MSN, is the Center Director for Women's Wellness & Maternity Center, an accredited nonprofit birth center in Madisonville, TN, where she has provided full scope care for more than 22 years. She is Chair of the Legislative Committee and former President of the American Association of Birth Centers.Kate Bauer, MBA, is the Executive Director of the American Association of Birth Centers, located in Perkiomenville, PA, and the Project Administrator of the AABC Uniform Data Set.
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alliman
authors.affiliation: Julia C. Phillippi, CNM, MSN, is a lecturer at Vanderbilt University School of Nursing in Nashville, TN, and a PhD student at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. She practices on a locum tenens basis with the Women's Wellness & Maternity Center and Lisa Ross Birth & Women's Center in Knoxville, TN.Jill Alliman, CNM, MSN, is the Center Director for Women's Wellness & Maternity Center, an accredited nonprofit birth center in Madisonville, TN, where she has provided full scope care for more than 22 years. She is Chair of the Legislative Committee and former President of the American Association of Birth Centers.Kate Bauer, MBA, is the Executive Director of the American Association of Birth Centers, located in Perkiomenville, PA, and the Project Administrator of the AABC Uniform Data Set.
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Bauer
mesh_terms: D016550:Birthing Centers / Q000191:economics* / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007349:Insurance, Health, Reimbursement; D007351:Insurance, Liability / Q000191:economics*; D008119:Lobbying; D008880:Midwifery / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration; D009721:Nurse Midwives; D011247:Pregnancy; D014481:United States