maternity home; birth center
A facility where midwives provide prenatal, delivery, and postnatal care. Smaller and less medicalized than a hospital.
She gave birth at a maternity home near her house.
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.