Abstract Overview:
The search for a compromise between natural childbirth in the atmosphere of the comfort of home and a sense of security in the event of complications resulted in the creation of a place that, in a hospital setting, allows the mother to experience the birth of a child while respecting privacy and minimizing medical procedures.

Aims and Objectives:
The aim of the study is to assess whether and how the choice of the place of delivery (Birth Centre versus Delivery Room) affects the number of medical procedures performed, hospitalization time and costs of perinatal care.

Method:
The research method used in the study was a retrospective analysis of medical records. A statistical method was used to perform a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the obtained information. The study group included low-risk pregnant women whose pregnancy was physiological and who gave birth vaginally in the Delivery Room (200 patients) and the Birth Center (198 patients).

Results:
Significantly more medical procedures were performed in the Delivery Room. The average length of hospital stay after delivery in the Birth Centre was 2.91 days, while in the Delivery Unit it was 3.46 days, and when it comes to the average cost of hospitalisation, the corresponding values of the results are PLN 2,119.69 and PLN 2,400.77.

Conclusion:
The higher number of medical procedures performed during delivery in the Delivery Room has an impact on the increase in the length of hospitalisation. The costs of perinatal care are higher in the Delivery Room, due to the higher number of medical procedures performed. Reducing medicalisation during delivery in the Birth Centre has an impact on the reduction of medical procedures recorded during hospitalisation. Women with a physiological pregnancy should decide to give birth in the Birth Centre, due to the lower number of perineal injuries, including episiotomies, recorded there.