What does Accreditation mean?
The Mark of Quality
The Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers (CABC) provides support, education, and accreditation to developing and existing freestanding birth centers and Alongside Midwifery Units.
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:
- Access to CABC accreditation experts to get questions answered.
- Use of a CABC Certificate of Accreditation for wall display.
- Premium Accreditation Marketing Kit
- Access to the CABC Resource Center
- One site visit every 3 years with Accreditation Specialist airfare, lodging and meals included.
CABC Resource Center
You get exclusive access to the CABC Resource Center with step-by-step instructions for the Journey to Accreditation AND Re-Accreditation that include Trainings, Accreditation Materials, Educational Articles, CABC Monthly Newsletter Archives and Sample Forms.
Premium Accreditation Marketing Kit
Accredited birth centers and alongside midwifery units enrolled on the 3-year accreditation cycle are offered a Premium Accreditation Marketing Kit to use as needed. This kit includes: a clickable web badge to verify accreditation status, a window cling of the CABC Accreditation Seal, and a set of customized brochures about the value of accreditation that features your birth center's logo and contact information.
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.
- The birth center respects the health care rights of all clients, including privacy and follows standard HIPAA practices.
- The birth center providers practice midwifery and support the normal birth process.
- Because they are not appropriate for use in normal labor, the birth center does not use certain interventions, such as vacuum extraction, medication to speed up labor, continuous electronic monitoring, and epidurals.
- The birth center has a specific plan for transferring to a hospital if complications arise before, during labor, or after birth, and interventions are required.
- The birth center builds and maintains community ties, ensuring that it adapts to meet the changing needs of the community it serves.
- The birth center follows generally accepted accounting principles.
- The management of the birth center ensures continuity of leadership and quality of care.
- Clinicians are licensed, as required by state and federal laws.
- At least two staff members attending every birth are trained and certified in CPR and newborn resuscitation.
- Staff members are trained according to the policies and procedures of the birth center.
- The birth center conducts regular emergency drills, to make sure staff members are prepared to manage unexpected situations with laboring moms and newborns.
- The birth center facility is inspected by state and local officials for building code requirements.
- Medical equipment is inspected regularly by the birth center staff.
- There are sufficient supplies on hand for the number of childbearing families served at the birth center.
- If the state requires a birth center license, the birth center is licensed.
- There are basic emergency medical supplies on hand for both mothers and babies.
- Maternal and newborn information is readily accessible to the client and health care team, and maintained in a system compliant with state and federal standards.
- The birth center educates clients on self-care in pregnancy, including nutritional counseling, informed decision-making about pain relief in labor, and newborn care.
- The birth center maintains a plan for transferring the patient chart to another facility if the mother or newborn needs to be transferred.
- If the birth center is involved in research, appropriate protocols are followed, including obtaining informed consent from participants.
- The birth center reviews its practices and clinical outcomes on a regular basis to ensure that it follows its own policies.
- The birth center actively seeks client feedback, and then evaluates and works to improve client satisfaction on a regular basis.
- Birth center staff are evaluated on a regular basis to ensure competency and alignment with birth center policies.
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.
- Midwives are integrated into the organization, including in leadership roles within the Alongside Midwifery Unit (AMU)
- There is support for the facility and the principles of evidence-based, physiologic birth within the larger organization.
- The rights and responsibilities of the birthing person and their support as they define it are clearly delineated in the facility's documents and are communicated to the person and their support.
- Care provided is culturally competent, equitable, sensitive and responsive to the specific beliefs, values, and customs of the client.
- Care for normal labor, birth, and continuous risk screening is consistent with the best-available evidence for normal physiologic labor and birth, and with national standards for midwifery and alongside midwifery unit care.
- An Alongside Midwifery Unit provides appropriate parent education prior to discharge & has a mechanism for follow-up after discharge.
- Fire safety instruction and drills are provided for all personnel.
- Birth rooms are homelike and non-institutional in appearance.
- Facility has properly maintained equipment for the routine care of laboring, birthing, and postpartum people and neonates.
- Equipment is available for routine care.
- AMU has readily accessible equipment, supplies & medications to manage common maternal & newborn emergencies.
- Health records of the AMU provide for continuity and documentation of complete and accurate data on maternal and newborn care.
- There is a formal, established program for evaluating the quality of care for childbearing families and the facility in which that care is provided.
- The AMU has a system in place for the collection and analysis of both utilization and outcome data.
- There is a formal system in place for soliciting feedback from clients receiving any care in the AMU.
Ready to move forward? Follow the Steps to Accreditation!
Need help or have questions? Contact us!
Request fees for CABC accreditation at 877-241-0262 ext. 1 or ad***@**********************on.org
Learn more about Birth Center Accreditation Support Grants from the AABC Foundation.
Book a One on One Phone Meeting with CABC
Can’t meet during these times? Click here to fill in our contact form and let us know what day/time works for you.
