Is where I give birth related to the care provider I choose?

Yes. Where you give birth and who provides your maternity care are closely connected. You will want to choose a birth setting that has care providers who will meet your needs in pregnancy, during labor and birth, and after birth.

For example, if you decide to give birth in a hospital, your care provider will be a physician or, if available, a midwife who practices there. Midwives usually provide care in out-of-hospital birth centers or home births, while physicians occasionally attend births in these settings. Read the Choosing a Maternity Care Provider section for more details about what the best available research says about different types of maternity care providers. In brief, care led by midwives either has important advantages or is not different from care led by doctors for many different outcomes.