Image by StockSnap from Pixabay AB 55 streamlines outdated rules for California’s Alternative Birth Centers, expanding access to safe and affordable places to give birth. October 15, 2025 - SACRAMENTO ...

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This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. Women in California today have fewer places to give birth than they did a decade ago. Legislation signed this week by ...

Birth centers are midwife-run facilities that deliver babies outside of hospitals. They have struggled to stay in business in part because of strict state licensing requirements. The context: Many ...

Jessie Mazar squeezed the grab handle in her husband’s pickup and groaned as contractions struck her during the 90-minute drive from her home in rural northeastern California to the closest hospital ...

Many California families want to bring their babies into the world outside of a hospital, but the state isn’t making it easy for them. Half of the state’s birth centers have closed since 2020, leaving ...

Midwife Caroline Cusenza holds Allison Rowe’s infant in the now-closed Monterey Birth & Wellness Center. The center closed because it could not afford to install galvanized steel heating vents — a ...

Stay up-to-date with free briefings on topics that matter to all Californians. Subscribe to CalMatters today for nonprofit news in your inbox. Many California families want to bring their babies into ...

Many California families want to bring their babies into the world outside of a hospital, but the state isn’t making it easy for them. Half of the state’s birth centers have closed since 2020, leaving ...

Birth centers are midwife-run facilities that deliver babies outside of hospitals. They have struggled to stay in business in part because of strict state licensing requirements. Stay up-to-date with ...