This article aims to asses - from an anthropological perspective - the model of accompaniment to pregnancy, childbirth and birth represented by Maternity homes, non-health facilities run by midwives on a freelance basis. In Italy, the number of these facilities has grown considerably in recent years, currently reaching 19. The aim of this work is, on the one hand, to provide a mapping of these facilities, outlining similarities in their genesis and the services they provide; on the other, to reflect on the potential of this model for supporting the process of birth, which incorporates both the instances relating to the exercise of reproductive rights (such as women’s right to choose the circumstances of their own birth), and the international evidence-based recommendations (WHO 2018a). These include the ‘continuity of care’ during pregnancy and childbirth, that is often disregarded in the hospitalized birth. The integral approach – including support that often continues even after the birth (e.g. through the activities of groups of parents who have given birth in the same place) - will be investigated in the light of the peculiarities of the non-interventionist approach that characterises this type of facility.
