Join us in supporting Minnesota’s birth centers! 

More and more people across our state are choosing to deliver their babies and receive care in birth centers rather than hospitals. This should come as no surprise – studies comparing birth centers to hospitals find congruent or better outcomes for pregnant people receiving care in a birth center, including lower rates of cesarean births and other intervention practices. And it’s not just medical outcomes. Families are making a deliberate decision to choose birth centers because they want to feel and be more in control of their care. Birth centers employ patient-first, physiologic, and comprehensive models of maternal care that are simply indispensable to our state.

Unfortunately, birth centers are not getting reimbursed at the levels we need to grow and thrive in Minnesota. Compared to hospitals and other traditional and physician-led-settings, birth centers face significantly lower reimbursement rates. Existing payment models do not fully recognize or adequately reimburse for the varied and essential services that birth centers provide. As a result, too many facilities struggle to sustain and grow their practices, and there is not enough support for the development of free-standing birth centers and our workforce.

The good news is, the MN Chapter of AABC is working with policymakers to advocate for better payment models and reimbursement for birth centers in MN. This work is needed now more than ever before, with the growing prevalence of maternal health deserts in the state. But we cannot advocate alone – birth centers, our clients, and our supporters need to work together for policy changes that will allow birth centers to grow and thrive in our state. Please join us in our work over the coming months to advocate for birth centers and our unique model of care in Minnesota!

Donate to our cause HERE

Purchase a t-shirt to benefit our cause HERE

Visit the MN Chapter of AABC website for more information.