International Association of Parents & Professionals for Safe Alternatives in Childbirth was founded in 1975 by David and Lee Stewart. They were inspired to found the organization after being unable to find help for their own home birth, and after over a decade of work in Missouri advocating for alternatives to hospital based births. At its peak the organization had 8,000 members and was focused on lobbying for alternatives to hospital births including midwifery, home births, and natural births.