At the end of the panel presentations,
Robbie Davis-Floyd spoke how health care models that are too successful often get shut down. She presented the case of the
Albany Practice in London, an all-risk NHS midwifery practice with fantastic outcomes--perinatal mortality rates were 4.9/1000 in the practice, compared to 11.4/1000 in the overall borough and 7.9/1000 nationwide. Remember, this group took on women from
all risk factors in an underprivileged area; these were not cherry-picked wealthy white women by any means. The Albany Midwifery model also had a much lower cesarean rate and a very high home birth rate. Despite--perhaps because of--these excellent outcomes, the practice was shut down in 2009 by King's College Hospital.