The American Association of Birth Centers (AABC) is the nation's foremost authority and resource on birth centers. We are a multidisciplinary membership organization comprised of birth centers, individuals and organizations that promote and support birth centers as a means to uphold the rights of healthy women and their families, in all communities, to birth their children in an environment which is safe, sensitive and cost effective with minimal intervention. AABC has built a solid foundation for growth in birth centers by: * Promoting state regulations * Advocating for insurance reimbursement * Developing a quality improvement program * Establishing national standards * Establishing recognized accreditation through the Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers * Providing an annual forum for discussion of issues * Educating parents, professionals, and policy-makers to the birth center concept * Conducting major research * Developing industry indicators