Problem
It seems unlikely that any process which treats childbirth as a sickness could possibly be a healthy part of a healthy society.
Solution
Build local birth places where women go to have their children: places that are specially tailored to childbirth as a natural, eventful moment—where the entire family comes for prenatal care and education; where fathers and midwives help during the hours of labor and birth.
Related Patterns
… both birth and death need recognition throughout society where people are, as part of local communities and neighborhoods - Community of 7000 (12), Identifiable Neighborhood (14), Life Cycle (26). As far as birth is concerned, each group of neighborhoods must be able to take care of the birth process, in local, human terms. (Note: The development of this pattern is due largely to the work of Judith Shaw, at this writing a graduate student in architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, and a mother of three children.)
Include rooms where after the birth the mother and her baby can stay together with the other members of the family - sleep together, eat together, cook together - Common Areas at the Heart (129), Couple’s Realm (136), Farmhouse Kitchen (139) ; provide a partly private garden to walk in - Half-Hidden Garden (111), Garden Wall (173); for the shape of the building, gardens, parking, and surroundings, begin with Building Complex (95) …
Reference for full-text of Pattern: p. 328low-confidence