Bill will expand access to midwifery care and out-of-hospital birth options
The package passed unanimously by the Massachusetts House on June 20 includes provisions to create a pathway to licensure for Certified Professional Midwives and to instruct the Department of Public Health (DPH) to update and revise the regulations that govern freestanding birth centers in the state.
Read MoreIn May, the Massachusetts State Senate voted to include $1.65M for birth centers in the state budget for fiscal year 2025.
$300,000 for Neighborhood Birth Center in Boston
$350,000 for Seven Sisters Birth Center in Northampton
$1,000,000 for maternal health grants that support new and existing birth centers
Read MoreMay 5 is the annual International Day of the Midwife. We love and celebrate midwives this day and every day! Thank you midwives, for all you do to care for us.
Read More“Massachusetts Midwives Push for a Licensing Plan” was the front page headline in the Boston Globe on April 27, 2024. Globe reporter Diti Kholi highlights the important role of midwives, and the lack of a licensure pathway in Massachusetts for the certified professional midwives who attend nearly all home births and are 50% of the national workforce for birth centers. Read the article.
Read MoreAmerican College of Nurse Midwives-MA, Bay State Birth Coalition, and Neighborhood Birth Center Thank Administration For Their Leadership & Urge Quick Implementation of Recommendations
Maternal health practitioners and reproductive rights supporters applaud Governor Healey’s release this week of reports and recommendations regarding the state of maternal health care and essential services in the Commonwealth. The recommendations laid out in the report, if implemented fully, would result in a marked increase in access to maternal health care across Massachusetts. We particularly thank the Administration for prioritizing the following critical recommendations: (1) Updated regulations governing birth centers to better align with national standards; (2) Equitable reimbursement for Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs); and (3) Support for integration of Certified Professional Midwives (CPMs) into more pregnancy and birth care settings and coverage for such care in Massachusetts.
Read MoreOn October 5, maternal health and reproductive equity groups joined together at the State House to advocate for legislation to expand access to midwives in Massachusetts. Approximately one hundred parents, kids, midwives, nurses, students, community leaders, advocates, and legislators gathered for a powerful rally on the State House steps. Afterwards, supporters and lawmakers gathered inside the State House for a presentation and panel discussion on the value and importance of midwifery care.
Co-hosted by Neighborhood Birth Center, Bay State Birth Coalition, ACNM Massachusetts, NACPM Massachusetts, Reproductive Equity Now, MassNOW, ACLU, Our Bodies Ourselves, Mystic Valley Action for Reproductive Justice, City of Boston Office of Women’s Advancement, Birth Equity & Justice Massachusetts, Center for Black Maternal Health and Reproductive Justice at Tufts Medical School, and the Massachusetts PPD Fund.
Read MoreSeptember 14-20, 2023 marks the first ever Birth Center Week, an event started by the national non-profit Birth Center Equity to "celebrate and elevate the impact and potential of birth centers, with a focus on community birth centers that provide safe, culturally-reverent, midwifery-led health care for all." We are celebrating Massachusetts birth centers past, present, and future.
Read MoreOne way that State Representatives and State Senators in the Massachusetts legislature show support for policies is through cosponsorships. Once a bill or budget amendment is filed, legislators can sign on to cosponsor it. Check out our scorecard. Some items are now closed for cosponsorship (like House budget amendments for this year), but your legislators can still sign on to cosponsor bills if they haven’t already.
Read MoreIn May, the Massachusetts Senate passed a budget that included unprecedented state funding for birth centers. Senator Liz Miranda’s amendment passed unanimously to provide $1M for the development and operation of nonprofit freestanding birth centers like Neighborhood Birth Center and other community based maternal health organizations. In addition, $150K was allocated to Seven Sisters Birth Center to support their doula program. In August, Governor Maura Healey signed the budget into law.
Read MoreFollow us on Instagram @baystatebirth and check out our Reels to see the recordings of our Live conversations from Black Maternal Health Week.
A conversation with State Senator Liz Miranda
A conversation with State Representative Brandy Fluker Oakley
Discussion of the new art exhibit honoring the foremothers of gynecology with Lilly Marcelin of Resilient Sisterhood Project
