Midwives

One of the last remaining birthing units in southern Alabama is closing. The small, nonprofit Grove Hill Memorial Hospital in Clarke County will discontinue its labor and delivery services on Friday, Aug. 16 at the end of the business day.

A judge ruled that Alabama cannot shut down freestanding birth centers that meet certain standards, siding with midwives and doctors who challenged what they described as Alabama's de facto ban on the facilities.

A group of midwives, doctors and health care activists are working to provide a path for freestanding birth centers in Alabama to keep their doors open.

A group of midwives and doctors filed a lawsuit challenging what they described as Alabama's de facto ban on freestanding birth centers by requiring the facilities be licensed as hospitals.

The state of Alabama has issued its first licenses to out-of-hospital midwives since 1976.Al.com reports the newly-formed Alabama State Board of Midwifery…

Representatives approved the bill Tuesday with an 84-11 vote. It now moves to the Alabama Senate. Currently, it is misdemeanor for anyone other than a…