Cary birthing center tied to newborn deaths closing

In an email sent to clients, Baby+Co. said that the facility will close on May 15 but did not give a reason for the move. Baby+Co. centers in Charlotte and Winston-Salem also are closing, and a statement from the Charlotte facility blamed financial difficulties in the health care market.

"We have made the difficult decision to close our three birth centers in North Carolina. We did not make this decision lightly, but market conditions and the payer landscape in North Carolina made these centers financially unsustainable," the statement said. "Despite challenging market conditions, we have a proven track record for our innovative model of maternity care, while saving payers and families in North Carolina $27 million."

Midwives defend safety of birthing centers but say Baby+Co. deaths need more investigation

A 36-page report from DSHR noted that the WakeMed Cary physician who served as the director for Baby+Co.’s Cary facility was not consulted in the cases of the fatal deliveries and learned about the deaths later. That person was later terminated from the position.

The report also noted concerns with five of 10 deliveries inspectors reviewed, including insufficient overnight staffing, inadequate monitoring of fetal heart rates and confusion over where to transfer a newborn needing medical attention.

Because North Carolina has no regulations for birth centers, officials couldn't impose fines or penalties for any deficiencies inspectors found.

"Tragically the case we had with the Cary center and close calls at some other centers around the state is a clear indication that we need to provide some kind of safeguards," said Sen. Mike Woodard, D-Durham, who recently introduced a bill that would require birthing centers to be licensed and allow the state to monitor them.

A similar bill last year stalled in the General Assembly.

Midwives unaffiliated with Baby+Co. said Wednesday that they hope questions over birthing centers don't taint their profession.

"It's really unfortunate that an entire discipline ... can be completely disparaged because an isolated incident," said Cassandra Elder, a certified nurse midwife at City of Oaks Midwifery. "It's wrong and its unfair that our discipline be tarnished because of something we had nothing to do with."

City of Oaks offers patients a personal birth experience with a midwife at UNC Rex Hospital, where they can get emergency medical care if needed.

"I want women to be able to have a beautiful, natural birth of their choosing in a hospital setting because that's where my comfort is," Elder said.

"Business and birth don’t mix well together," said Deb Fiore, a certified nurse midwife who owns Carrboro Midwifery. "It’s a shame, really, but Baby+Co. is not a reflection of the majority of birth centers in our country. Most are owned and run by midwives."

Birthing center founder denies blame for baby deaths, invites state regulation

When the state inspection report was released last June, a Baby+Co. spokesperson called the findings “significantly flawed."

"I had both my kids in a birth center," Baby+Co. co-founder Cara Osborne told WRAL News in an interview at the time. "I come at this from an evidence-based standpoint. I understand statistics, and sometimes even tragic outcomes can occur in short period of time."

Baby+Co. said in its latest statement that its fetal and newborn mortality rate is half that for low-risk births in hospitals and that its pre-term birth rate was a third of the North Carolina average.

"Our passionate and talented team of midwives and employees have cared for over 4,000 women and families in North Carolina. We are extremely proud of the quality of care and experiences we provided," the statement said.

Officials said in the statement that they would continue providing care until the centers close and would help patients transition to new doctors.

"We remain committed to the cause of improving maternity care in the United States because the current system remains broken," the statement said. "We will continue our efforts to provide a financially sustainable and scalable model of maternity care with our center in Nashville [Tenn.] and elsewhere.