The birthing center is not just a place where people go and deliver babies, it’s an all-around service that we need here in our community.”

Juan Carlos Payero, Portsmouth Town Council

NEWPORT COUNTY — The Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center at Newport Hospital received a reprieve on Tuesday, as Brown University Health announced it will not close the facility in the next fiscal year.

The announcement came after local legislators, along with the Portsmouth Town Council, the Newport City Council and many community members, said the center’s closure would be a devastating blow to public health by forcing expectant mothers to go off island to have their babies delivered and to receive prenatal and postpartum care.

The Town Council Monday night voted unanimously to follow Newport’s and Jamestown’s lead in approving a resolution opposing the closure. 

“There are direct health implications for when you do not have a birthing center here,” said council member Juan Carlos Payero. “The birthing center is not just a place where people go and deliver babies, it’s an all-around service that we need here in our community.”

The center offers not only prenatal and postpartum care, but addresses mental health issues, lactation issues and more, he said. “There are so many things that we as a society take for granted when it comes to those services that not having them in our backyard will be detrimental to the health of all Rhode Islanders,” Payero said.

Council President Keith Hamilton, who signed the resolution, agreed. “There is roughly a birth a day in Newport, and it would be nice to have a localized birthing center,” he said.

Xaykham Khamsyvoravong of the Newport City Council said that without the birthing center, pregnant women would have to be transported to Providence or elsewhere to give birth, most likely in an ambulance. 

“And guess who’s going to pay the uncompensated portion of that bill? Your taxpayers, so this also makes good fiscal sense,” he said.

Pauline Perkins-Moye, director of Resident Services of Newport Housing Authority, said the initial decision to close the center was shortsighted. “Understand what your wife went through, what your sister went through, trying to have a baby,” she said.

Rally goes on as planned

A rally that had been scheduled in Newport to oppose the closure went on as planned Tuesday night. 

Speaking outside the Great Friends Meeting House, birthing center advocates rejoiced in the decision to keep the facility open, but reminded everyone the reprieve was for one year only, so it was important to remain vigilant and engaged with Brown University Health and state lawmakers to keep it funded in future budgets.

Local members of the R.I. House of Representatives expressed relief Tuesday at Brown University Health’s announcement.

“The Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center is a critically important public health resource for our constituents, providing not only birthing services but outstanding regular pre- and postnatal care depended on by families,” said Rep. Lauren H. Carson (D-Dist. 75, Newport). “The prospect of young families — many of whom are financially disadvantaged and don’t have easy access to transportation — having to travel 40 minutes or more off island for these services was extremely alarming.”

Carson said lawmakers were grateful to the leaders at Newport Hospital and Brown University Health for recognizing the importance of the birthing center to their communities, and for their commitment to keeping it open next year. 

“Thank you to the city and town councils across Newport County who passed resolutions supporting the center, the thousands of people that signed the petition to keep it open and the moms across Aquidneck Island that stood up to keep the center open,” she said.

Carson and Aquidneck Island Reps. Terri Cortvriend (D-Dist. 72, Middletown, Portsmouth), Michelle McGaw (D-Dist. 71, Portsmouth, Tiverton, Little Compton), Marvin L. Abney (D-Dist. 73, Newport, Middletown) and Alex S. Finkelman (D-Dist. 74, Jamestown, Middletown) last week sent a letter to hospital leaders expressing their opposition to closing the birthing center. (Note: McGaw is the wife of Jim McGaw, editor of The Portsmouth Times.)