Legislation making its way through the General Assembly in Frankfort could make it easier for Kentucky to have freestanding birthing centers. These are homelike facilities where those with a low risk pregnancy to give birth without medication and the help of a midwife if that is what the mother wants.
Sarah Ladd is a health and policy reporter for the Kentucky Lantern. She has been following this story and said that nearly half of Kentucky is in what is called a “maternal health desert.”
“What that basically means that county doesn't have a certified midwife, it doesn't have a birth center, or it doesn't have a hospital the provides OBGYN care, and about half of Kentucky counties are in that situation.”
She has been following this story and said lawmakers want more data on these centers. She said Kentuckians have been going to neighboring states to use these centers.
“So that means we have healthy pregnancies and healthy births happening out of state, and our data doesn't reflect that, and our data could really benefit from reflecting that.”
Ladd said that supporters of the bill are confident that this will be the year it will pass. It has been brought up previously, but failed to pass both chambers of the legislature.
The Bill is called Senate Bill 17. It passed out of the Kentucky Senate on Friday morning and is now awaiting action in the House.
Sarah Ladd's reporting with the Kentucky Lantern can be found here.
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