Dear editor:
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In a letter about midwifery, Michelle Breen of Chicago Community Midwives wrote that “Illinois Masonic has announced the closing of its hospital-based alternative birthing center.” This statement is completely false. Advocate Illinois Masonic’s Alternative Birth Center (ABC) offers low-risk pregnant women a comfortable homelike setting to experience natural, noninvasive childbirth. This type of unit requires a separate staff of nurses trained to attend women in this environment. There is a shortage of nurses nationwide, and our staffing for the ABC has been our biggest challenge. Hospital administration and the obstetrics department at Illinois Masonic are certain that the ABC will continue and even be improved in the future. The ABC is celebrating its 25th anniversary this month.
Michelle Breen and the Reader both owe an apology to us, to readers, and especially to women who may have been alarmed to read that their health-care providers are somehow going away. We are not going anywhere. We will continue to provide safe, compassionate, comprehensive obstetrical and gynecological services to low-risk women. “Every Woman Deserves a Midwife.”
