35% of U.S. counties don’t have an adequate place in which to give birth, report finds

A March of Dimes report finds that more than 35% of counties U.S. have no OBGYN or hospital that delivers babies. Some patients must drive more than an hour to seek prenatal care.

Transcript

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

More than 2.3 million women of childbearing age in the U.S. live in a county where there are no OB-GYNs or birthing centers or hospitals that deliver babies. That's according to new research out today from March of Dimes. NPR's Elissa Nadworny reports.

ELISSA NADWORNY, BYLINE: In places across the country, hospitals have been closing their obstetrics and delivery units.

BILLIE HAMILTON-POWELL: Is it a good time to have babies in the United States right now? I have to say no.

NADWORNY: Billie Hamilton-Powell is a certified nurse-midwife in Maryland. She's been helping pregnant patients for three decades, and she's watched closure after closure.

HAMILTON-POWELL: And here we are, closing hospital OB-GYN's departments, and women are trying to figure out where they're going to go to get OB care.

NADWORNY: More than 100 hospitals have closed their maternity units in the last two years, according to new data out today from the March of Dimes, a nonprofit focused on maternal and infant health. Many hospitals blame funding. Maternity care rarely makes money. And the report says this means 35% of U.S. counties now don't have a single OB-GYN or place to give birth.

HAMILTON-POWELL: This is insane that women can't find some place to get pregnancy care.

NADWORNY: For the millions of women who live in these counties, they may have to drive more than an hour to deliver their baby, not to mention prenatal or postpartum care. In some cases, they just go without.

AMANDA WILLIAMS: One in six babies in maternity care deserts did not receive adequate prenatal care.

NADWORNY: That's Dr. Amanda Williams, an OB-GYN and the interim chief medical officer at March of Dimes. She says missing that prenatal care often leads to complications.

WILLIAMS: There was a 13% increased risk in preterm birth for patients living in maternity care deserts.

NADWORNY: To combat these maternal care deserts, Williams has some suggestions - increased access to telehealth, so a pregnant patient can talk to a provider online, and more mobile clinics, buses that travel to underserved areas...

HAMILTON-POWELL: All right.

NADWORNY: ...Like the one Billie Hamilton-Powell runs through the University of Maryland Capital Region Medical Center. On the bus, Hamilton-Powell gives ultrasounds...

HAMILTON-POWELL: Very good. Baby's heartbeat is 145.

NADWORNY: ...Does labs and other prenatal care.

HAMILTON-POWELL: But if you have any questions or concerns, I need you to call us, OK?

NADWORNY: She says these patients have healthier pregnancies, and they don't have the stress of figuring out where they'll find care. Elissa Nadworny, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.