The City has taken nine months -- the time it takes a women to bear a child --before stepping up publicly to handle Philadelphia's maternity care crisis.

Now, it appears the Dept. of Public Health department has stopped cradling the issue, after acting Commissioner Carmen Paris held an emergency meeting with physicians and maternity care providers and advocates.

Paris wants to create a task force to craft solutions to handle the dilemma.

"If I'm a childbearing women in Northeast Philadelphia, there is no facility to bear my child," said JoAnne Fischer, executive director of the Maternity Care Coalition.

Nine months ago, Fischer's organization released a report, "Childbirth at a Crossroads", which identified disturbing trends for childbearing families.

During that time, maternity wards have been closing down all over the city, including Jeanes Hospital in Northeast Philadelphia. Another in Chestnut Hill is close to shutting down.

"This is now a crisis," Commissioner Paris said. "We need to identify the right solutions."

She said her immediate aim is to increase the number of maternity beds in hospitals across the city. According to Paris the city has 302 beds, down from the 317 the City requires.

She is going to ask the Governor and the State Legislature to push through proposals to provide relief to hospitals that are suffering financially.

If Chestnut Hill Hospital closes their obstetrics program, it will make the 15th maternity closing in 10 years.

Dr. Arnold Cohen, chairman of Einstein Medical Center, said more hospitals will close units unless insurance companies pay more for deliveries and medical malpractice suits costs come down.

"We handle some of the maternity overflow at Einstein," Cohen said, "but malpratice suits make it such a risky situation for hopsitals. We have to assume a risk between $2,000 and $5,000, and we are lucky if we break even."