Rural US labor and delivery units close, creating maternity care deserts
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · May 6
Rural US labor and delivery units close, creating maternity care deserts
16 articles · Updated · The New York Times · May 6
More than 130 units have shut since 2020, while 1,104 counties lack any birthing facility or obstetric clinician, according to a 2024 March of Dimes report.
In Bonner County, Idaho, families now travel about an hour or more for ultrasounds and births, turn to home deliveries or temporary stays near hospitals, and sometimes buy helicopter insurance.
The report says rural women without hospital obstetric care face higher risks of preterm birth, inadequate prenatal care and emergency-room deliveries, with Medicaid cuts expected to worsen the long-running problem.
The U.S. is the only wealthy nation where maternal deaths are rising. What makes giving birth in rural America so dangerous?
A new $50 billion fund aims to save rural healthcare. Why are maternity wards still closing at an accelerating rate?
As hospital maternity wards vanish, are home births becoming a safe alternative or a gateway to the emergency room?