The closure of a well-known Takoma Park midwifery practice and a Bethesda birth center have sparked an outcry. Those protesting this are some Washington area women who say they are worried by the dwindling number of opportunities to give birth outside a hospital or with a midwife’s help. At least seven other birth centers and midwifery practices, many citing rising malpractice insurance premiums and lagging insurance company reimbursements, have folded in the Washington-Baltimore area over the past decade.
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