A major task getting birthing centers underway

A bill making its way through the legislature is intended to expand options available for maternal and child health during the birth process.

Offering these choices is especially important for Black mothers and their babies, say leaders supporting passage of the bill.

But how those options will fit into existing systems was a concern raised by other leaders also scrutinizing the proposal.

SB 986 “hopes to address these disparities by creating a license category for birth centers, establishing state certification processes for doulas and midwives and opening a universal nursing visitation program for new parents,” according to a recent Record-Journal story by Cris Villalonga-Vivoni.

Those disparities show up in statistical data.

State health officials report that 2017 data shows babies born to Black mothers were significantly more likely to die before their first birthday than babies born to white women, according to Villalonga-Vivoni’s story.

Furthermore, babies born to Black mothers are at risk for low birth weight which can result in other serious child health and development issues.

SB 986 would create a new license category to open more birthing centers throughout the state, according to testimony by Public Health Commissioner Dr. Manisha Juthani, speaking to the legislature’s Public Health Committee earlier this month.

Birthing centers can provide lower cost, family-friendly options for those seeking “less medicalize births,” Juthani testified.

Currently, Connecticut has only one standalone birthing center, The Connecticut Childbirth and Women’s Center in Danbury.

Birth centers provide an alternative to traditional hospital delivery care, and give alternative pregnancy care providers, such as doulas and midwives, a chance to enter the healthcare system and be more accessible to larger groups of people, according to Juthani’s testimony, as reported by Villalonga-Vivoni.

While these goals sound reasonable and no doubt would bring many positive benefits, there remain issues to be resolved, as Villalonga-Vivoni’s story points out.

Committee co-chair, state Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, spoke about the mandatory relationship between birth centers and the greater healthcare system.

“Anwar, a physician, noted that the legislation could lead to unintended selection bias as the major hospitals would receive more complicated pregnancy cases,” says the R-J story.

Additionally, the Connecticut Hospital Association submitted testimony regarding the bill’s language stating that it doesn’t mandate regulations and protocols for the license.

CHA wrote that the language needs to be updated to ensure that “mandatory clinical guidelines” are met. Some legislators brought up concerns about the cost and sustainability of certain services outlined in the bill.

State Rep. Lezlye Zupkus, RProspect, told VillalongaVivoni, that “we need to make sure that people that need services get them, but we need to make sure that they’re stable. They’re going to continue to be there.”

Bringing a healthy baby into the world and helping families accomplish this task in a way that makes the experience and all the related outcomes the best they can be is a goal that should be attainable for everyone. It’sa goal that SB 986 is intended to facilitate.

It is also an ambitious one that warrants deep consideration to make sure the anticipated outcomes are successful.

Concerns about cost, coordinating with the existing healthcare system, and getting the details of certification or licensing right are fair and legitimate. The work needed to sort out those issues is well worth the effort.

While there may well be adjustments needed to get this major piece of maternal and child health care in place, making it happen can have a significant impact, going a long way towards fixing the statistical disparities played out in the lives of newborn babies.

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