Vote delay on possible closing of MA birth center

BEVERLY, Mass. -- Trustees of the North Shore Birth Center have put off a vote on whether to stop doing deliveries at the facility because of a sharp rise in malpractice premiums.

The center serves women with low-risk pregnancies who wish to give birth naturally in a quiet setting. It is one of only two of its kind in Massachusetts, the other being in Cambridge.

Supporters held a rally Tuesday outside Beverly Hospital as trustees of Northeast Health System met to discuss the future of the birth center.

The hospital later issued a statement saying that the center would continue providing services while trustees weighed the impact of a possible closing on the community. The statement said the outpouring of support for the center's continued operation had not gone unnoticed.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)