Identification of the architectural design variables to reinforce intimacy in birth spaces

Numerous studies indicate that, in the architectural spaces intended for birth, there are certain design factors that subjectively influence women at the time of childbirth, and that cause psychological and physiological changes in them. In particular, the design of the environment can help to reduce the mother's stress levels, restore the naturalness that is inherent to the moment of childbirth, and perhaps avoid unnecessary medical interventions: supply of oxytocin, performance of a cesarean section, etc. The scientific literature during the last 10 years studies which are the design factors that most influence women at the time of childbirth and contrasts the experiences of women who have given birth in different environments: in their own homes, in conventional hospital rooms, in hospital multisensory rooms, in Labour-Delivery-Recovery rooms (LDR) in a birthing center, etc. There is evidence that stress in these women decreases when subjective aspects are achieved such as the feeling of security, of retreat, of silence, of home, of freedom of movement, together with functional aspects like the possibility to accommodate the environment to different movements/postures, to have control and adapt the temperature and lighting levels, etc. Among all of them, the search for intimacy is a very relevant and recurring factor in the related literature. This article aims to be a bibliographic review of the most relevant articles from the last 10 years, which deal with how the design of the birth environment can favor the subjective perception of intimacy.