Birth Unit Design - The BUD Project
Ian Forbes and Maralyn Foureur testing BuDSET
Many maternity units in Australia are currently undergoing or planning rebuilding projects to modernise existing birthing facilities. New insights emerging from an increased understanding of how the birth environment impacts on maternal anxiety and physiology and subsequent childbirth outcomes can be incorporated into a set of design principles that need to be considered for optimising the healthy aspects of birth settings.
The first objective of this project is to develop and refine Birth Unit Design (BUD) principles. The second objective is to audit birth units using the BUD principles to determine whether they can actually be 'measured'. We then plan to use the Birthing Unit Design Spatial Evaluation Tool (BuDSET) to explore the relationship between BUD measure and birth outcomes.
The research team consists of Adjunct Professor Ian Forbes, from the Faculty of Design Architecture and Building with Professors Caroline Homer, Maralyn Foureur and Nicky Leap from the Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health at the University of Technology, Sydney. We are also keen to have higher degree research students join us on this project.
This project will help provide documented evidence for use in the design of better birthing units. If we can ensure the essential elements of these designs are provided in every case, we will have reduced anxiety, increased support and might expect to see reductions in the demand for interventions that have demonstrated negative consequences for both mothers and babies.