Report warns of increasing ‘maternity care deserts’ in America

Facility closures and limited obstetrics providers are leaving more women of childbearing age and their babies without nearby maternity services, according to a new report from March of Dimes, reports Fierce Healthcare. Thirty-six percent of U.S. counties had no hospital or birth center offering obstetrics care or any other obstetrics providers in 2020, representing a 2% increase in “maternity care deserts” from a similar report published two years prior, the group found.