American Association of Birth Centers

07/21/2025

✨ Make a Difference Monday! ✨

Repost from ACNM:
The Midwives for MOMS Act of 2025 expands access to midwifery care by funding midwifery education programs-- especially for students from underrepresented and rural communities.

Why it matters:
More midwives= more healthy moms and babies
Midwifery care is known to lower C-section rates & improve outcomes
Access to care saves lives.

Tell Congress: We need more midwives for our communities!

Take action at https://www.birthcenters.org/call-to-action

07/18/2025

So much power in one room. We are so grateful to have come together with ACNM, NACPM, BCE, and PICBM for such crucial work to move maternal health in the US forward by uplifting midwives and birth centers in our country's healthcare system.

An enormous thank you to our panelists, our organizers, our lobbyist Debbie Jessup, and Senators Ben Ray Luján and Lisa Murkowski. None of our efforts would be possible without you all, and we are so grateful.

Here's to paving a better path forward for mothers birthing people in the United States!

07/18/2025

🌟 Help us make this year’s AABCF Gala to Grow Birth Centers unforgettable! 🌟We're ready to get Prismatic in Portland! 🌈

The AABC Foundation is gearing up for a powerful weekend in Portland this fall, including a dazzling evening that celebrates and raises funds for community, equity, and access to high-quality birth center care.

The AABC Foundation is currently seeking Silent Auction items! You can donate anything you can dream up -- handmade art and jewelry, self-care baskets or experiences, special birth stools and chairs -- there's a place for everything in the silent auction! 💍🎨🍼

As for the Gala's live auction - one of the most exciting parts of the evening - we're looking for one-of-a-kind experiences for our donors!
Think rips to a vineyard, a special Airbnb stay, a spa visit, and more! 🌅

Every item helps us build a future where every individual has access to safe, respectful, and person-centered perinatal care.
🔗 https://aabcfoundation.betterworld.org/donate-an-item

07/17/2025

AABC Birth Institute 2025 🌳
Meet the Keynote: Leseliey Welch, MPH, MBA

Leseliey Welch is a public health strategist, social entrepreneur, writer and professional dreamer whose guiding value is Love. 💗
As a founder of Birth Detroit and Birth Center Equity, her work is grounded in making communities stronger, healthier and more free – starting with ensuring all people have access to all safe birth options.

Birth Detroit opened its first freestanding community birth center in 2024, and Birth Center Equity is a national effort to invest in Black, Indigenous, people of color-led birth centers at scale to make birth centers a real option in all communities. Leseliey has two decades of leadership experience in city, state and national health organizations, including having served as Deputy Director of Public Health for the City of Detroit. Leseliey earned her degree in Women’s Studies, Masters in Public Health and Masters in Business Administration from the University of Michigan, and is an Aspen Institute Ascend Fellow.

We are so delighted to have Leseliey with us this year, so let's welcome her to this year's conference!

07/17/2025

07/17/2025

Want to watch today's Congressional Briefing live? Visit National Association of Certified Professional Midwives (NACPM) to view the livestream at 12PM ET!

Thank you all for your stories and contributions. Let’s make change happen!

07/16/2025

The Midwives for MOMS Act of 2025 expands access to midwifery care by funding midwifery education programs-- especially for students from underrepresented and rural communities.

Why it matters:
More midwives= more healthy moms and babies
Midwifery care is known to lower C-section rates & improve outcomes
Access to care saves lives.

Tell Congress: We need more midwives for our communities!

Take Action: https://www.votervoice.net/ACNM/Campaigns/68049/Respond

07/16/2025

No excuses, just action!

Congress must invest in the Midwives for MOMS Act! This bipartisan effort directly addresses the nation’s maternal health crisis by expanding access to high-quality, culturally competent care through midwives. With the U.S. facing one of the highest maternal mortality rates among developed nations, especially for Black, Indigenous, and rural communities, this legislation offers a proven, cost-effective solution. Midwife-led care improves birth outcomes, reduces unnecessary interventions, and strengthens maternal health equity. Investing in this act is not just a matter of policy — it’s a matter of saving lives, supporting families, and ensuring every mother has access to safe, respectful, and effective care.

https://www.votervoice.net/ACNM/Campaigns/68049/Respond

07/16/2025

The BABIES Act ensures birth centers thrive--not just survive. These centers are more than buildings__they're lifelines.

-Fewer intereventions
-Lower costs to Medicaid
-Higher satisfaction.

The choice is obvious.
Introduced in May 2025 by Senator Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), the Better Availability of Birth Centers Improves Outcomes and Expands Savings (BABIES) Act (S.1598) would require the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a demonstration project under the Medicaid program in six states in areas identified a having limited access to maternity care.
Repost this. Contact your reps. Fund what works.

Visit our Action Center Today: https://www.votervoice.net/ACNM/Campaigns/69631/Respond

07/16/2025

Community birth centers are safe, evidence-based care--and families love them. But they are disappearing or gone in most areas due to a lack of funding. The BABIES Act helps change that.

Building upon the success of CMS's Strong Start Demonstration Program, the BABIES Act would provide grant funding to states to develop and advance innovative payment models for freestanding birth centers. The birth center model of care has been shown to reduce preterm and low birth weight births, reduce cesarean births, and lead to significant cost savings due to better outcomes.

We encourage all midwives and midwifery supporters to contact their members of Congress and urge support for this critical legislation. We have provided a template letter that can be edited to reflect your thoughts and opinions in support of the BABIES Act.

https://www.votervoice.net/ACNM/Campaigns/69631/Respond

07/16/2025

Join us next Wednesday for another exciting Webinar Wednesday!

🚲 💦 Movement can make an enormous difference in someone’s pregnancy and labor experience, and birth center staff being able to support and empower clients in that can be a game changer.

Andrew Martinez, founder of Built Well for Birth, will cover the team's most important principles in pregnancy exercise, postpartum exercise, and labor and delivery training! 🧘‍♀️

To register, visit: https://www.birthcenters.org/events/webinar-wednesday-pre-postnatal-exercise

We can't "weight" to see you there!

07/10/2025

Grab your notebooks and pens and get ready for a weekend of incredible educational experiences at the 2025 AABC Birth Institute! 📓🖊️

One of our favorite aspects of the AABC Birth Institute is the educational environment that blossoms there. We have a scheduled packed with sessions to accelerate your learning and growth - clinical, administrative, timely topics, research panels, and beautifully informative keynote speeches.

The world of community birth is everchanging, and it’s important for us to continue evolving along with it. If you are looking to water your intellectual garden, look no further than the AABC Birth Institute! 🌱