Group hoping to save North Shore Birth Center rallies outside Beverly Hospital

BEVERLY - Demonstrators rallied outside Beverly Hospital Monday afternoon, protesting plans to close the North Shore Birth Center there. Organizers say the center is a vital part of maternal care by offering the choice of a safe delivery with a midwife outside a hospital setting.

"If we don't take care of moms and babies there will be no us," said State Rep. Jamie Belsito. "The Birth Center is part of that. It's part of healthy, non-invasive, safe, equitable care and that is so important."

The hospital claims there hasn't been enough staff at the center to run it, and since January, all births have taken place at the hospital.

In a statement, the hospital's chief medical officer said Beverly Hospital provides a full range of women's health services and will continue to offer midwife-assisted births and doulas.