Pennsylvania Honors Booth Maternity Center with Historical Marker

Newswise — PHILADELPHIA (April 17, 2017) – The Booth Maternity Center, founded in 1971 with the support of The Salvation Army, was a dedicated maternity hospital for all women, promoting one standard of care regardless of an individual’s type of insurance or status in life. Named after The Salvation Army’s founders, Catherine and William Booth, the 18-bed hospital in the Overbrook section of Philadelphia revolutionized the medical world’s approach to childbirth in southeastern Pennsylvania, and served as a model for future health care for pregnant women throughout the nation. To honor its place in health care history, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has granted permission for a historical marker to be placed at its former location, which is now part of the Saint Joseph’s University campus. The unveiling of the marker will take place on Friday, April 21, 2017 at 10 AM. For more details about the event, click here.

Promoting Modern Midwifery

During its time as a maternity center, the midwives and doctors at Booth attended up to 1,200 deliveries a year. It was the first hospital in Pennsylvania, and one of the first in the country, to promote the formalization of modern midwifery as a profession through the efforts of the Maternity Center Association, including Ruth Wilf, CNM, and Mabel Forde, CNM, and the collaborating obstetrician, John B. Franklin, MD, who founded the hospital.  Booth providers and supporters also were instrumental in the founding of the Nurse-Midwifery Graduate Program at the University of Pennsylvania in 1979 by Joyce Thompson, CNM, through their willingness to open the facility to the clinical training of Penn graduate nurses to become Nurse-Midwives.

“This midwifery-obstetrician collaborative model offered expecting mothers the choice of a more traditional, natural childbirth amidst the then contemporary culture of a sterile, medicalized hospital birth,” said the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing’s William McCool, PhD, CNM, RN, FACNM, FAAN, Associate Professor of Nurse-Midwifery and Director of the Nurse-Midwifery Graduate Program. McCool also spearheaded the effort to get the historical marker for Booth.

Encouraged Involvement

Booth was also the first hospital in Pennsylvania to encourage partner and family involvement during childbirth for all women, with no separation of individuals for care based on different economic or cultural backgrounds. At the time, partners were not allowed in most delivery rooms of hospitals; by allowing and encouraging partners and family members to be present, Booth pioneered the practice of a women-centered support system throughout the duration of labor and delivery.  The hospital also was valued greatly for the support and community atmosphere it provided to families even after the delivery of their children in the form of family-friendly events and a variety of parenting classes.

Community Connection

Booth was the first institution to demonstrate that a hospital could be more to a community than the place where a pregnant woman was “dropped off” while in labor and “picked up” a few days later, never to return again until the next pregnancy.  Booth’s community-driven programs were well-known and well-attended by women and families of all economic and cultural backgrounds. 

International Impact

The model of care delivered at Booth began to spread across the globe when the midwives   initiated in 1973 an American College of Nurse-Midwives’ (ACNM) accredited refresher program, led by Susan Yates, CNM, for foreign-trained midwives desiring to practice Nurse-Midwifery in the United States, or return to their native country with this new, innovative approach to offering pregnancy care.  Additionally, Booth served as a site for American-trained midwives who desired clinical experience using this consumer-driven, family-centered care.  During this time, 96 midwives from 13 countries were trained at Booth, and graduates returned to practice midwifery in several nations throughout the world, as well as in 20 states and the Virgin Islands.        

Future Impact

Booth had an incredible impact on maternity care in Philadelphia and the surrounding area. In 1975, in Manhattan, NY, the “Childbearing Center (CbC),” the first state-licensed and accredited free-standing birth center staffed by Nurse-Midwives in the United States, was founded by Midwives Ruth Lubic, CNM, and Kitty Ernst, CNM, who had played a consulting and financial role in the founding of Booth.  They used the Booth model of consumer-driven, family-centered care in establishing the CbC.  Soon, birth centers were growing nationwide, and more women-centered obstetrical units in hospitals began to offer similar services.  Ultimately, Booth was forced to close due to financial reasons. However, these new birth centers emulated its model to offer women family-centered care in a home-like environment, and continue to do so today.   The national accreditation of birth centers in the United States is accomplished through the American Association of Birth Centers, founded by Midwife Ernst.

A Brief Timeline

The facility was first opened in 1962 by The Salvation Army as a home for unwed mothers, and was named to honor the founders of The Salvation Army, William and Catherine Booth. In 1971 it was converted to the Booth Maternity Center, open to all pregnant women. It was later renamed the John B. Franklin Hospital and Family Center upon its sale to Maternal and Family Activities Incorporated in 1986. Booth was closed in January 1989 due to financial issues. The building was purchased by St. Joseph’s University in June 1989 and converted to a residence facility known as Overbrook Hall, which was later rededicated in 2008 as Moore Hall in tribute to Father James W. Moore, S. J., after 45 years of service to Saint Joseph’s University.

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