11/21/2025
Another birth center closing... Another community losing a safe option for autonomous community birth.
One of the oldest, safest, most beloved freestanding birth centers in the entire country - in PA - is closing its doors after 47 years and 16,000+ babies. Another beloved and long-standing birth center, , recently closed for births and transitioned to women's health only.
They didn’t close because they were unsafe.
They closed because malpractice insurance is crushing them, reimbursements haven’t kept up in decades, and the system keeps tightening who even “qualifies” for low-risk birth-center care.
This is happening RIGHT AFTER the Senate passed SB 507 (“Midwifery Modernization Act”) — a bill that was sold as “expanding access” and “integrating midwives”… but ONLY for hospitals or hospital-affiliated practices.
Independent freestanding birth centers like our own beloved Flagstaff Birth and Women's Center? Left to die.
We all celebrated SB 507 as a win for maternal health.
Why are we celebrating “more midwives” while flagship independent midwife-led birth centers are forced to shut down?
Why does this bill only soften collaborative agreements when midwives work for hospitals or big systems — but does nothing to fix the reimbursement and liability crisis killing the truly autonomous options families want?
Families deserve better. Families deserve options.
Midwives deserve reimbursement parity for ALL out-of-hospital birth.
We deserve malpractice reform that doesn’t treat normal birth like a crime.
We deserve lawmakers who fight to SAVE birth centers and safe birthing options instead of quietly letting them disappear.
If you believe physiological birth matters,
If you believe families should have real options,
If you’re tired of being told “hospital is the only safe place” while our maternal outcomes get worse…
Demand our legislators fix the system that’s quietly killing independent midwifery.
I promise some of us here are trying to salvage what's left.
Words inspired by Cardinal Birth Midwifery Services
