• This infographic, Birth Settings in the U.S., provides facts and figures about options for giving birth.
• The American Association of Birth Centers is the best single source of information about out-of-hospital (or “freestanding”) birth centers in the United States. Here you will find more information on the birth center concept, FAQs, a brochure and more.
• Having a Baby? Ten Questions to Ask Brochure (English, Spanish, Czech) from the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services.
• The American College of Nurse-Midwives’ Find a Midwife tool helps you locate a nearby midwife.

Find Online Quality Information to Compare Hospitals in Your Area

• The Leapfrog Group reports maternity statistics from more than 1,100 U.S. hospitals that volunteer to participate (figures include a cesarean rate measure in low-risk, first-birth women; early elective birth, which should be avoided; and episiotomy).
• Why Not The Best reports hospital-level data for selected states on total cesarean rate, primary (initial) cesarean rate, total VBAC rate, low-risk VBAC rate, and early elective delivery.
• Consumer Reports provides data for more than 1,100 hospitals that report cesarean rates in low-risk first-birth women.
• CesareanRates.com provides hospital-level total cesarean rates for all 50 states.
• Quality Check includes results of several measures from The Joint Commission’s Perinatal Care core set from hospitals with 1,100 or more births/year (and those with 300-1,100 births are being added).
• Hospital Compare has hospital-level early elective delivery rates.
• Many states have their own websites for this purpose, such as California’s CalQualityCare.org, with the following measures for all hospitals: low-risk first-birth cesarean, exclusive breastfeeding at hospital discharge, episiotomy and two VBAC rates.

Find a Local Out-of-Hospital Birth Center

• The American Association of Birth Centers maintains an online directory of birth centers.

Find a Local Care Provider for a Home Birth

• The American College of Nurse-Midwives’ Find a Midwife tool helps you locate a nearby midwife who may be able to attend a home birth.
• Midwives Alliance of North America (MANA) will provide a list of MANA members in your state (MANA members have many different types of credentials).
• Citizens for Midwifery offers this collection of state-by-state midwifery laws and organizations. Contact state organizations to find midwives practicing in your preferred setting.