medgremlin , 11 months ago

There is a lot more to this article that you left out that provides very important context. The state health department is imposing really quite reasonable regulations on the birthing centers for the health and safety of the mothers. Some of the requirements include formal nursing education for midwives (who can otherwise calls themselves midwives after taking barely-regulated online courses), proximity to a hospital that has obstetrics and pediatrics in case of emergency (must be within 30 minutes by ambulance), and building requirements that allow for things like ADA compliance and appropriate medical facilities at the birthing center.

The article does also address the significant systemic problems that mothers, particularly black mothers, face in many hospital settings, as well as the black maternal fatality rates. While these issues are important to discuss and address, inadequately staffed and equipped birthing centers 45 minutes away from the nearest hospital by ambulance are not the answer here. In my professional medical experience working in such a hospital, I’ve seen transfers from birthing centers like the ones discussed in the article that were unable to address maternal uterine hemorrhage and neonatal hypoxia. Luckily, they were close enough to proper hospitals that could care for the mother and newborn, but if they were 45 minutes away by ambulance, the mother and newborn very likely would have died.