A new report by the March of Dimes reveals that the United States is facing a maternity health crisis, with one in every three counties lacking a single obstetric clinician. This lack of access to maternity care is forcing more pregnant women to travel further to deliver their babies or go without prenatal care entirely.
The report, titled "Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts in the US," reveals that over 35% of US counties are considered "maternity care deserts," meaning they have no access to birthing hospitals, birth centers offering obstetric care, or obstetric providers. This lack of access affects over 2.3 million women of reproductive age and resulted in 150,000 births in 2022 in areas with no access to maternal care.
The report also highlights that women living in maternity care deserts and counties with low access to care have poorer health before pregnancy, receive less prenatal care, and experience higher rates of preterm birth. The analysis revealed an excess of over 10,000 preterm births among those living in maternity care deserts and limited access counties in 2020-2022.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) projects that the nation will face a shortage of 12,000 to 15,000 ob/gyns by 2050. This shortage is exacerbated by the fact that in the past five years, there’s been an uptick in hospitals closing their obstetrics units due to staff shortages in the wake of the pandemic, low birth volumes, and poor reimbursements.
The states with the highest percentage of maternity care deserts include North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma, Missouri, Nebraska, and Arkansas. However, the areas with the most need for maternity care are concentrated in the southern part of the U.S.
The report also notes that the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 is impacting how and where ob/gyns train and treat patients. States where abortion is now prohibited had fewer ob/gyns for every 10,000 births compared to states where abortion rights were upheld.