Elected leaders who hailed the reopening of the state’s second freestanding birth center earlier this year may have celebrated prematurely.

The Cambridge Health Alliance Birth Center, which closed in March 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, was scheduled to reopen on July 6 with the aim of welcoming 100 babies in the first year. CHA said the center would serve all patients but have a “special focus on vulnerable and underserved populations who will benefit most from midwifery care and a birth center experience.”

But no deliveries happened this summer, even as supporters of the 2024 maternal health law tried to create new urgency around bolstering access to care and removing healthcare disparities for people of color.

“The Birth Center has been open for prenatal and outpatient visits,” CHA spokesperson David Cecere told the News Service Thursday. “We are anticipating our first delivery this week — they had been on hold as we worked through a leadership transition.”

Cecere said that “unexpected turnover” prompted the center to “hold deliveries until we established a plan to ensure high quality care and an exceptional patient experience.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Public Health, asked whether it was aware of any paused operations or staffing issues, said DPH had called the birth center and was told it was “taking clients.”

CHA has said the reopening would not have been possible without $1 million in state funding, which Cambridge Rep. Marjorie Decker helped secure in the fiscal 2024 budget. The center also received a grant from Beth Israel Lahey Health to help cover training, equipment, and community education and outreach.

The birth center, situated in a Victorian home with three renovated birthing rooms, held an open house on June 17 with more than 200 attendees, according to CHA. Speakers included Decker, U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark, Sen. Sal DiDomenico, Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui and Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein.

“Too often we are talking about the closure of maternity services, but today we get to celebrate a spectacular rebirth – and one that I hope will be followed by many more,” Goldstein said in a statement at the time. “Expanding access to community-based, relationship-centered care is key in advancing health equity. The reopening of the CHA Birth Center supports families who deserve more options for culturally responsive maternity care.”

Clark said the reopening was a “signal to women everywhere that we can and will keep making progress on maternal health.”

“We’re going to keep fighting for a healthcare system worthy of every mother in this community and a future worthy of the children who will begin their lives at CHA,” she said.

Michele Helgeson, a member of the Community Coalition for the Cambridge Birth Center, said everything had seemed “very positive” and “very, very upbeat” surrounding the open house. The coalition has met with CHA leaders to advocate for community interests and promote a midwifery model of care.

“There was no indication that there was any reason to stop or pause at that point,” said Helgeson, who added she wants to see CHA conduct community outreach and assure patients about available services at the birth center.

Birth centers are seen as alternatives to hospital deliveries, particularly in low-risk pregnancies. The facilities offer a home-like environment and are staffed by midwives who can provide more personalized care.

The 2024 law removed regulatory barriers to opening freestanding birth centers and created a pathway for certified professional midwives to become licensed. The state started accepting applications for temporary CPM licensure last month, as DPH expects to issue regulations for “standard” licensure in early 2027.

Until the CHA Birth Center returned to the maternal health landscape, Massachusetts was home to only one such freestanding facility in Northampton. But Seven Sisters Midwifery and Community Birth Center faces intense financial pressure due to low reimbursement rates compared to services provided in hospitals, according to owner and clinical director Ginny Miller.

Legislation (S 784) to ensure that certified nurse midwives, certified professional midwives and licensed freestanding birth centers are not paid less than physicians and hospitals delivering the same services has been lodged in the Senate Ways and Means Committee since April.

Kimberly Amsley-Camp was the CHA’s director of midwifery from August 2025 through September 2026, and she managed a staff of 20 certified nurse midwives and nurse practitioners, according to her LinkedIn profile. Working with a “multi-disciplinary” team, Amsley-Camp wrote she “planned and developed reopening of a hospital owned freestanding birth center.”

Amsley-Camp did not respond to a News Service request for comment.

Cecere said consultant and certified nurse midwife Erin Stein is now overseeing “daily operations” of the CHA Birth Center. She’s working alongside Dr. Tara Singh, chief of obstetrics and gynecology, and Allisyn Brady, senior director of OB/GYN.

Helgeson said the coalition wants to meet with CHA leaders and get an update on birth center operations, though she expects that won’t happen until November due to scheduling logistics.

“There is definitely support for the sustainability of the birth center, and that’s really what we’re hoping to achieve in the long run,” Helgeson said. “The opening is important, but we really want it to succeed in the long-term as well.”

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Original article HERE.