Welcome to
NEIGHBORHOOD BIRTH CENTER
Collectively manifesting Boston’s community birth center
Neighborhood Birth Center will be an integrated community birth center in the heart of Boston offering comprehensive full scope midwifery care rooted in reproductive justice. Our work is guided by the belief that the world we want to live in – from a healthy family to a healthy planet – requires the reimagination of healthcare and the equitable redistribution of capital. Neighborhood Birth Center is about building power to redesign healthcare in ways that improve experiences and outcomes for all.
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Neighborhood Birth Center on the TEDx stage!
TEDx Global has recognized our Executive Director, Nashira Baril, by selecting her talk as one of the most important ideas worth sharing. Nashira's TEDx talk is a compelling vision of the transformative potential in childbirth when we reimagine healthcare. Drawing from her personal experiences and pioneering leadership, she illustrates how liberated healthcare—unbound by racism and capitalism—can profoundly impact lives and communities. Spread the word, share the talk!
Why Does Boston Need a birth center?
Massachusetts ranks 32nd in the country on midwifery integration and lags significantly behind other states in access to community birth centers. Of the 400 birth centers in the US, there is 1 in Massachusetts. Right now, 99% of births in MA happen in the hospital, even though most could happen safely outside the hospital with midwives. Not to mention that a shift of just 10% of births from hospitals to birth centers would save $1.9 billion annually. Out-of-hospital options in eastern MA are limited unless people can afford the several thousand dollar price tag and have the space and support for homebirth. Neighborhood Birth Center will create a third option for pregnant people to receive care and give birth in a safe, sanctuary-like space, with highly trained midwives, whose care is covered by insurance. The presence of a birth center in Boston will improve outcomes and experiences and advance racial equity in birth and other health measures.
Birth center care results in:
Fewer infant emergency department visits and hospitalizations
Lower rates of c-section
Higher rates of spontaneous vaginal delivery
Lower rates of preterm birth
Lower rates of babies born low birth weight
Higher rates of initiated and sustained breast/chestfeeding
Thanks to our Supporting Partners!
