ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author situates mothers' experiences with birth centres in a broader discussion of the meaning of birth in the home and hospital, in order to explore the complexity of meanings associated with birth centres in the evolving birth landscape. The author's goal is to explore individual women's motivations for out-of-hospital birth in order to build up an understanding of the factors that are leading to the current resurgence of interest in birth centres. Birth centres have often been positioned in academic literature and in the promotional literature of the birth centre industry as providing the "best of both worlds". While many women appreciated the comfort and luxury of the birth centre, few respondents suggested that it was anything like home.
