Welcome to Childbirth Resource Network a local birth network for the central valley. Providing you information and access to local resources.

We are here to encourage parents to honor pregnancy as a natural normal event and to recognize the importance of the mothers physical, mental, and emotional well being along with a safe birthing environment and a strong support system.

Spend some time here and explore your options. We have provided many links for you to explore, combining age-old wisdom with evidenced based care. We recommend you consider all birth place options, recognizing that birth experiences are enhanced in home, birth center, or hospital settings that support parents birth plans detailing their informed choices for labor birthing and the postpartum period.

Consider these facts about our existing maternity care system and the high cost to mothers and babies:

• Too many healthy pregnant women experience unnecessary surgery and other interventions – while 1 in 3 childbearing women gave birth by cesarean section in 2007, many cesareans could have been avoided if maternity quality were truly a priority.
• Recent reports indicate that some health insurance companies are rejecting coverage for women with a history of cesarean surgery, and other companies are charging cesarean mothers significantly higher premiums to get the same coverage as women without a previous cesarean (New York Times, 6/1/08). 
• America's preterm and low birth weight rates have been rising for decades, and planned cesareans in low-risk women are contributing to the increase.
• Practice variation among providers, facilities and geographic areas points to the need for quality improvement. For example, in 2006 cesarean section rates in New York State hospitals ranged from 17% to 50%, while vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) rates ranged from 0% to 36%. Furthermore 71% of hospitals no longer offer VBAC, an option recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
• Troubling ethnic and racial disparities in maternity care involve differences in choice, control, and the way care is provided, resulting in unacceptable and for many indicators widening gaps in outcomes.
• Overall, U.S. maternity care does not measure up to the Institute of Medicine's six aims for quality improvement: to make care safe, effective, patient-centered, timely, efficient and equitable.