Dr. Susan Roque and the certified nurse midwives at All About Women, a Mooresville obstetric and gynecological practice, plan to open a birthing center in Statesville over the summer.

The center will lack the technology of a hospital but will be more conducive to natural birthing, Marcia Ensminger, a certified nurse midwife, said. Medicines needed for emergencies will be readily available, but pain medications, such as epidurals, won’t. High-risk women, such as those seeking vaginal delivery after cesarean sections, must still deliver in a hospital.

Roque has hired two certified nurse midwives in addition to Ensminger, who will deliver babies at the birth center.