Designing for Equitable Childbirth

Join the AIANY Public Architecture Committee for a lecture and panel inviting architects, designers, birth workers, and the public to consider childbirth as a shared spatial and societal health concern, and to explore how thoughtful design can support safer, more humane, and more equitable birth experiences.

Childbirth is a universal human experience, yet it is rarely understood as a design issue. Although all of us are shaped by the environments in which we are born or in which we give birth, birth spaces are often treated as a specialized or gendered concern and are commonly modeled on acute-care hospital settings. This approach has real consequences. The United States has the highest rate of preventable maternal mortality among ten wealthy nations, with profound racial disparities. Beyond mortality, many families experience birth as traumatic rather than supportive, with lasting physical and emotional effects.

While medical care is essential when complications arise, childbirth is typically a healthy physiological process. Research increasingly shows that the physical environment—privacy, light, sound, spatial layout, and opportunities for movement—plays an important role in stress levels, labor progression, and overall outcomes. Yet many contemporary labor and delivery units pathologize birth, and prioritize efficiency and monitoring over autonomy and emotional safety.

Keynote:
Kim Holden, AIA, Architect and Doula; Founder, Doula x Design

Panelists:
Myla Flores, Founder, The Birthing Place Foundation; 2025 CNN Champion for Change
Eugenia Montesinos, CNM, Inaugural Director of Midwifery, NYU Langone