noun
maternity home; birth center
A facility where midwives provide prenatal, delivery, and postnatal care. Smaller and less medicalized than a hospital.
彼女は自宅近くの助産所で出産した。
She gave birth at a maternity home near her house.
助産師 is a midwife (the person), while 助産所 is the facility where midwives work.
Compound of 助産 (josan, 'midwifery') + 所 (sho, 'place'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the spelling is conventionally associated with a midwife-run facility.