DAMARISCOTTA – MaineHealth has decided to close the birthing center at Lincoln Hospital in Damariscotta in December, despite a public campaign to keep the center open.

The nonprofit announced its decision Thursday. The announcement noted that “prenatal and postpartum care” would still be available in Damariscotta, but beginning Dec. 18 of this year, “inpatient labor and delivery services” will be transitioned to MaineHealth’s Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick.

MaineHealth cited low birth volumes at Lincoln Hospital, with the expectation that those numbers would continue to drop. The statement indicated that "more than two-thirds of pregnant patients in Lincoln County deliver at hospitals other than Lincoln Hospital."

The statement also cited a lack of adequate staffing for a 24-hour birthing center.

"Providing maternity care requires a team of physicians, nurses, anesthesia professionals and support staff who are consistently available to respond to routine deliveries and life-threatening emergencies at any hour," officials said. "Following its assessment, management concluded it could not identify a staffing model capable of providing safe, reliable care over the long term."

“We pursued every reasonable path we could identify because this decision was never about whether labor and delivery matters—it absolutely does,” said MaineHealth Chief Executive Officer Dr. Andrew Mueller. “It came down to one responsibility: determining whether we could continue providing safe, reliable care for every mother and every baby, every day and every night."

MaineHealth officials said MaineHealth will not close any additional labor and delivery services for the next two years.

Reactions Thursday from public officials supporting keeping the center open were swift. Gov. Janet Mills had already sent a letter to the MaineHealth board asking it to delay its decision for at least two years.

On Thursday, Mills Spokesperson Anna Parker said, "The governor is deeply disappointed by the MaineHealth Board of Directors’ decision to close the labor and delivery unit at Lincoln Hospital. In her recent letter urging MaineHealth to delay a decision on the unit, the governor warned that closure would make it harder for the state and region to attract and retain families, support strong schools, and sustain local businesses. She wrote that these goals cannot be achieved ‘without ensuring safe, timely, and high-quality maternity and newborn services reasonably close to home.’"

Gubernatorial Candidate Hannah Pingree attended and spoke at a rally over the weekend in favor of keeping the center open. Upon learning of the closure, she issued a statement decrying the MaineHealth decision.

"MaineHealth had a choice, and I believe they made the wrong one today," she wrote. "Moms, babies and families in Lincoln County will suffer for it. Women will still be giving birth, just farther from home, with less time to spare and fewer safety nets if something goes wrong."

One Lincoln Hospital patient, Corrinna Stum who herself is pregnant and expecting to deliver in January 2027, filed a lawsuit yesterday in Maine Superior Court asking for an injunction against the MaineHealth decision. As of Thursday afternoon, it was not yet clear how or if the suit would affect the MaineHealth decision.

This story will be updated.