Babymoon Inn birth center abruptly shuts down

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — In June, Babymoon Inn abruptly shut down birth centers in both Phoenix and Tucson, which left families without midwives after considerable financial investment, and employees without jobs.

Babymoon Inn has been around for more than a decade offering birth classes and doula services which provide emotional and physical support for expecting families, and an alternative to giving birth in a hospital.

For Jessica Locke, who was a patient at Babymoon Inn's Tucson center in 2022 when she was pregnant with her first child, the decision to once again undergo treatment at the center was an natural one.

"I had a good experience the first time and I loved all the staff," Locke said. "So, back in January, I gave them a call and told them that I was pregnant again and how far along I thought I was."

After five in-person appointments with the center, she received a call in June from her midwife that the birth center would be closing in the coming weeks.

When Locke arrived for her scheduled appointment one week later, her midwife told her she was terminated and was unsure if she was allowed inside the building.

"At first we were going to have to sit outside," Locke said. "I was like, it's 110 degrees today and I'm eight-and-a-half months pregnant."

With less than a month away until her baby was due, Locke was left scrambling both emotionally and financially.

“It was just super, super hectic and kind of stressful. Luckily, the midwife gave me a couple of contacts of places to call and we got lined up," said Locke, who found care with El Rio Health's midwifery center.

Locke, who had already paid more than $3,000 at Babymoon Inn, struggled to get into contact with ownership. That's when her mom, Sandra Ruppel stepped in.

“I started just slamming her every day with the emails because she wasn't responding and I just went solid after her every day," Ruppel said. "You know, we need a response. We need a refund.”

In an email provided to KGUN 9 by Ruppel, the center instead asked for additional payments, telling her, in part: "There is no refund due; this account has a balance," directing her to "review the documents Jessica signed."

“When somebody goes, treats your child wrong and your grandchild, it's just frustrating, infuriating," Ruppel said.

While the closure was unexpected for families, employees like clinic midwife Jillian Freeland whose role included opening the mail, saw signs early on.

“I started seeing a lot of late notices, everything from housekeeping to power bills to rent, which was very alarming," Freeland said. "Then starting in February, payroll was consistently late all the way through my last day.”

When Freeland notified the owners of the late notices, she said, she was told to scan them and send it their way because they'd take care of it.

Freeland told her coworkers of their rights to collectively bargain. But, she said, the executive team deleted her posts. Then, the owner contacted Freeland via Slack to cut her pay by 37%, according to a screenshot Freeland sent to KGUN9.

“They forced me out by cutting my pay and I was the only employee whose pay was cut," Freeland said. "I actually am still owed pay from all of May, and I have an unpaid wage claim in with the state that is going through the process."

Freeland then resigned in April.

"Every day I would go in thinking maybe this is going to be the day that they inform us we're going to close and every day the joy that I received from working with these families and with my fellow midwives and doulas and educators, just kept me coming back," Freeland said.

Two months later the center closed.

“It was my dream job and you know, all of us were there because we care," Freeland said. "Of course we need to get paid, but it, but it's about more than that."

Contracted doula Racquelle Adkission said, she still hasn't been paid for her services at the Phoenix clinic since April.

In June, she learned that Babymoon was closing its doors, so she reached out to the owner looking for guidance on whether she should continue scheduling or teaching classes.

"We're going to stay open until we can't anymore was kind of the response that I received," Adkisson said.

Since then, she hasn't heard back from the owner.

“We've all supported these families and we have families that keep coming back and it's a huge community," Adkisson said. "So there was a lot of grief and heartbreak in the beginning.”

Now, Adkisson said, the grief and heartbreak has turned into anger after experiencing radio silence from ownership.

"I've been blocked on social media, so I can't reach out to her there," Adkisson said.

Adkisson said, she doesn't have a phone number to reach out to either.

"We never got that closure. It was like a bad breakup," Adkisson said. "You just got ghosted by your ex."

Now, she's holding onto hope that she'll still receive a paycheck for her work.

In May, Babymoon's owner filed for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, according to documents obtained by KGUN9.

KGUN 9 reached out to the owner of Babymoon Inn and did not receive a response.

If a company files for bankruptcy but still owes money, it's important to submit a proof of claim document with the bankruptcy court.