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After a Lansing-area couple sued a freestanding birth center over the death of their son, the Lansing State Journal embarked on a three-month investigation into the practices of the midwives there and the attitudes of the natural birth community which rallied behind them. The State Journal was able to confirm five newborn deaths in a 10-year span - a rate much higher than the national neonatal mortality rate - and a string of maternal injuries or complications. The investigation ultimately revealed a troubling lack of data and oversight for out-of-hospital births in Michigan, a track record of questionable practices at the birth center and a pattern of heated disagreement over whether homebirths are safe. Three months after the project ran, the birth center in question closed its doors.