Abington Township has received a land development application on behalf of Birth Center DBA Lifecycle Womancare of Bryn Mawr for the construction of a birth and wellness center at 1329 Old York Road.

The center, which is named Lifecycle Abington, would be bordered by Rothman Orthopaedics Urgent Care (1327 Old York Road) and Abington Family Chiropractic Center (1355 Old York Road).

According to the application, a 7,565 sf two-story building is proposed on the property’s 0.61 acres. From the development’s description:

The applicant is proposing to remove and replace two existing building additions to create a new 7,565 SF birthing center. The existing parking lot and driveway accessing Old York Road shall remain. The proposed improvements also include new water service connections and reuse of the existing gravity sanitary sewer lateral which flows to an existing 8-inch main located underneath the sidewalk on the east side of Old York Road. From there, sewage will flow through existing mains and the Brentwood Pumping Station to the Sandy Run Interceptor where it will ultimately be treated by the Fitzwatertown Road Treatment Plant.

The birthing center anticipates 9 full-time employees on average day.

The schematic first floor plan (shown below) includes a family room, birth suites, and a midwife area.

Second floor plans (shown below) include exam rooms, an ultrasound room, a lactation room, a mental health room, an ultrasound room, and a training room.

According to Birth Center DBA Lifecycle Womancare’s website, their original center launched in 1978 as the first licensed free-standing birth center in Pennsylvania. It was incorporated as a 501c3 charitable organization and provides midwifery-based gynecological and birth-oriented healthcare.

The new building was purchased in October 2023. The facility is expected to open in the summer of 2025.

From their website:

Thanks to the generosity of a benefactor who shares our passion and commitment to the midwifery model of care, we have the foundation for realizing our goal of establishing a new center in Abington. We have raised over half of our $5M goal, and we need to raise an additional $2M to reach it.

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Renderings: lifecyclewellness.org