We need your help to reopen Luminis Health Midwifery’s Birth Center . 

Women in Anne Arundel County are having their birthing options restricted by Luminis Health, who closed the Luminis Health Midwifery’s birthing center (formerly known as Bay Area Midwifery). This was the last freestanding birthing center in the state of Maryland and was shuttered by Luminis Health at the end of January 2023.

Over the past few years there have been different medical services closed under suspicious and questionable circumstances. The hospital administration did not provide adequate staffing or funding in order to meet the demand for the birthing center, and they have reported dubious statistics in order to justify the closing of the birthing center. This petition is to provide clear and tangible proof that birthing center services are wanted and needed in Maryland.

Birthing Centers are important for two main reasons: 

1) They give mothers a choice. Birth centers provide a more relaxed environment for the laboring mother where she can labor in the manner she chooses without medication. They are set up with a focus on natural comfort measures with trained staff present if medical intervention becomes necessary.

2) They are a more affordable option than the hospital. Birth centers typically allow the mother and baby to be discharged 6 hours after birth while hospitals, including Luminis, require a stay of at least 24 hours after birth. This affordability is particularly important for low income mothers. 

Please consider:

• Signing this petition
• Writing a letter to patient advocacy and the board at Luminis Health.
  • State your displeasure in the closure of the birth center and their lack of support and urge them to reopen the birthing center.

  • Patient Advocacy at Luminis Health: patientadvocacy@luminishealth.org

  • Luminis Health: wecare@luminishealth.org

• Contact local politicians in Anne Arundel County to gain their support for reopening the birth center. 
  • MD State Senator Sarah Elfreth: sarah.elfreth@senate.state.md.us
  • MD State Delegate Dana Jones: dana.jones@house.state.md.us 
  • MD State Delegate Shaneka Henson: shaneka.henson@house.state.md.us

Birth Center Closure Featured in Capital Gazette

Additional Birth Center Information 

Recently a birth center was closed in Massachusetts, awareness was raised, and the hospital took action to mitigate the impact of the closing. Read more here.