2,400 Sign Petition Opposing Midwife Cuts At Cape Cod Hospital

HYANNIS, MA — More than 2,400 people have signed a petition calling for Cape Cod Healthcare to reverse course on cutting hours at its midwifery program in half.

Petition organizer Katherine Kuusela, of Falmouth, said local women's health advocates will reach out to elected officials and pursue legislation if Cape Cod Healthcare follows through with the cuts expected to be enacted Nov. 16. She said the cuts launched "a clear attack on vital services benefiting women on Cape Cod." As of Friday afternoon, 2,428 people have signed the online petition.

But Cape Cod Healthcare CEO Michael Lauf last week defended the decision and said cuts to its midwifery program do not eliminate services for expectant mothers but are part of a realignment to expand maternity services at the hospital.

"We have restructured the department a little bit, a certified obstetrician in the hospital in the evenings and weekends supplemented with nurses and midwives," Lauf said. "We see this as an expansion of the services we are providing and not a contraction. We thought this was a very proactive gesture."

But Kuusela and the Massachusetts Nurses Association have decried the decision and said its coming at a time when the hospital is seeing an increase in the number of babies it's delivering. From April to September, the hospital has seen a 38.32 percent increase in baby deliveries compared to the same months in 2019. Specifically, the cuts affect midwife availabilty on weekdays, with midwives being available at the hospital only from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., Monday through Friday.

"These cuts effectively increase the likelihood of more profitable and life-threatening c-sections and complications for mothers and babies during delivery," Kuusela wrote in her petition. "It has further decivilized our medical system, reversing decades of progress achieved by the doctors, nurses and midwives truly dedicated to improving health outcomes for women and children on Cape Cod. "

"The absence of midwives during weekday shifts means that expectant mothers who have chosen to be under the care of a midwife will no longer have access to those same care providers during their labor and delivery — unless a soon-to-be mother is lucky enough to go into labor either at night or on a weekend," added a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Nurses Association.