"It's my Home away from Home:" A hermeneutic phenomenological study exploring decision-making experiences of choosing a freestanding birth centre for perinatal care.

Problem: The high-value, midwifery-led birth centre (BC) model of care is underutilized in the United States, a country with high rates of obstetric intervention and maternal morbidity and mortality.

Background: Birth setting decision-making is a complex, preference-sensitive, and resource-dependent process. Understanding how people choose BCs for care may help increase the utilization of BCs and generate positive perinatal outcomes.