Public hearing held on birth center rules in Illinois

Rules for the first free-standing birth centers in Illinois are the subject of a public hearing that’s one of the final steps before the centers can open.

The Illinois Health Facilities and Services Review Board holds the hearing Thursday in Oak Forest.

A 4-year-old law allows 10 free-standing birth centers to open in Illinois, but establishing regulations took longer than expected.

Birth centers provide women with low-risk pregnancies an alternative to hospital births.

Margie Schaps of the Health and Medicine Policy Research Group says birth centers are safe and cost-effective for low-risk pregnancies. Her organization’s birth center task force has been working to change Illinois policy on birth centers for more than 20 years.

Schaps says the state’s first birth centers could open before the end of the year.