What does Accreditation mean?

CABC Indicators for Freestanding Birth Centers

CABC uses the American Association of Birth Centers (AABC) standards of care for freestanding birth centers as a basis for accreditation.

The Standards used for freestanding birth center accreditation are reviewed and revised on a regular basis. A complete and current copy of the Standards is available for purchase from the American Association Birth Centers (AABC).

Select one of the seven standards, to see some examples of what the CABC reviews during accreditation.

CABC Alongside Midwifery Unit Standards

The Standards used for Alongside Midwifery Unit accreditation are reviewed and revised on a regular basis. A complete and current copy of the Standards can be requested here.

Select one of the six standards, to see some examples of what the CABC reviews during accreditation.

What are the Benefits of CABC Accreditation?

Accreditation from the CABC helps you in several aspects of your business.

• Demonstrate your accountability and commitment to providing high quality maternity care to childbearing families, insurance companies, maternity care colleagues, and your community.
• Learn to develop and use a robust Continuous Quality Improvement program that allows you to recognize any quality issues quickly and systematically work to resolve issues in order to assure that you provide the very best possible maternity care.
• Develop policies and procedures that support the midwifery model of care, enhance risk management, and allow you to provide evidence-based maternity care.
• Strengthen your position when negotiating with insurance companies.

• Learn from experienced experts in birth center operations who want to help your center succeed.
• Enhance pride in your birth center among your staff, consumers, and collaborative physicians.
• Provide support with your collaborative physicians and birth center or hospital administrators, for your use of evidence-based maternity care practices and avoidance of inappropriate use of technology.
• Improve your bottom line with discounts on medical liability insurance and payment from health insurance companies that require CABC accreditation for reimbursement.
• Listed on VerifyMyBirthCenter.org with other in-process and accredited birth centers.

Dedicated to Excellence

Freestanding Birth Centers and Alongside Midwifery Units that are already accredited in our 3-year accreditation cycle also enjoy these benefits of our monthly enrollment:

• Access to CABC accreditation experts to get questions answered while completing forms.
• Continually improved forms and site visit experiences.
• One site visit every 3 years with Accreditation Specialist airfare, lodging and meals paid by CABC.
• Review of two Interim Status Reports.
• Use of a CABC Certificate of Accreditation for wall display.

CABC Accreditation Process

CABC-Accreditation involves an extensive review of all aspects of business and clinical operations of the applicant center.

Please plan ahead and engage with CABC accreditation at least 6 months before your desired site visit month.

1. When you pay the 1st half of the Initial Registration fee, your center gains access to the CABC Resource Center
2. When you pay the 2nd half of the Initial Registration fee, your center can schedule a specific date for your site visit with the CABC Office

Start your Journey to Accreditation

Step 1: Review the current CABC Indicators

Your first step is to read and review the relevant Indicators for your center.

Need help navigating the CABC Freestanding Birth Center Indicators?  Take this training module:

Step 2: Complete the Initial Registration Form

1-Yr Starting Point

A new birth center or alongside midwifery unit who has been open less than one year or has had less than 100 births would be applying for a 1 year accreditation with CABC.

3-Yr Starting Point

A new birth center or alongside midwifery unit who has been open more than 1 year or has had more than 100 births would be applying for a 3 year accreditation with CABC.

Initial Registration Form

Step 3: Sign the Accreditation Agreement

Everyone knows you take accountability seriously when you become accredited. At CABC, we know that optimum accountability is rooted in a rigorous dedication to learning in the pursuit of excellence. We ask you to sign CABC's Accreditation Agreement to establish expectations and requirements for working together.

 Download to Complete the Freestanding Birth Center Agreement and send to Ad***@Bi**********************.org

 Download to Complete the Alongside Midwifery Unit Agreement and send to Ad***@Bi**********************.org

CABC can also send a link to complete the Agreement electronically.

Step 4: Pay the First Half of the Initial Registration Fee

Please pay the first half of the Initial Registration fee via check by U.S. Mail, Credit Card with 3% fee, or by AABC Foundation Grant.

If paying by AABC Foundation Grant, please attach it to the below form or forward your grant to Ad***@Bi**********************.org

Step 5: Register for the CABC Resource Center

After completing the form, you can fill out a brief registration form to request access to the CABC Resource Center with step by step instructions for the journey to accreditation that include trainings, accreditation materials, publications and sample forms.