Manhattan Maternity — “Birth Reimagined”.

Manhattan Maternity feasibility and redesign study funding will be utilized to address the specific aims outlined below.

This concept is proposed as a modern redesign of the existing hospital birth model whereby non-high-risk women give birth in a unique birthing center. The maternity center is a birthing center that is more patient-centric and provides for the individualized needs of women in labor. It would be a calm, relaxed space with enhanced amenities to optimize family and doula support for the birthing mother. A central and ground-breaking feature in the maternity center is the capability to perform cesarean birth and respond to emergencies on-site. As such it would be the first ambulatory site in America to offer surgical delivery as an additional safeguard to transfer to hospital. In short to redesign every aspect of the birth process to maximize the safety and satisfaction of natural birth.

• The process of granting approval to operate this novel maternity center must consider several factors, including:

1. Is such a service desired by women, care givers, and insurers, ie is there a public need?
2. Is the concept of out of hospital cesarean birth safe?
3. Is a maternity center financially feasible and sustainable
4. What regulatory modifications would be required for this new center?
5. What medical billing and coding modifications would be required for such a center?

• The birth redesign process also should address failures of the current birth system as well as incorporate innovative solutions to ensure a successful redesigned birth system. Considerations include:

1. Understanding access to care obstacles
2. Identifying key sources for health disparities with focus on Black and Hispanic populations
3. Understanding key sources of delays in care
4. Understanding the key drivers of unnecessary cesarean sections
5. Studying options to limit care disruption and enhance patient protection from biologic events such as pandemic infections, or other biological terrorisms
6. Assessing modernized designs that aid function in the birth process
7. Assessing existing and emerging technologies in their roles to enhance infant and maternal safety, to improve interdisciplinary provider communication and documentation, to enhance comfort and to reduce healthcare costs
8. Redesigning fixed and moveable equipment to best serve birth needs
9. Studying architectural design to best serve modern needs of the birthing mother and family