Women came through the doors at a community-based birthing center in the South Bronx seeking prenatal care. They had heard about the center from a neighbor, a parents' group at their children’s school, or the local mosque or church. What they found when they arrived was a brightly-colored waiting area that resembled a living room, children immersed in games in a corner, and staff that reflected the mosaic of cultures living in the surrounding apartments. They also met midwives who asked about their lives, their children, their families and traditions.  If pregnancies developed...

Women came through the doors at a community-based birthing center in the South Bronx seeking prenatal care. They had heard about the center from a neighbor, a parents' group at their children’s school, or the local mosque or church. What they found when they arrived was a brightly-colored waiting area that resembled a living room, children immersed in games in a corner, and staff that reflected the mosaic of cultures living in the surrounding apartments. They also met midwives who asked about their lives, their children, their families and traditions.  If pregnancies developed...