In Humboldt County, California, a midwife is providing prenatal care to women in a region that has been designated as a maternity desert. Leslie Booher, a pregnant woman, has been receiving care from midwife Laura Doyle at the Moonstone Midwives Birth Center in Eureka.

Maternity Deserts in the US

According to the source, many parts of the US are experiencing a shortage of maternity services, with hospitals closing their labor and delivery units due to rising costs, staff shortages, and falling birth rates. In rural areas, women often have to travel for hours to give birth, which can lead to serious complications for both mothers and babies.

In California, the maternal mortality rate is higher in rural communities than in urban areas. In Humboldt County, two hospitals have closed their labor and delivery units in the past five years, leaving only one hospital, Providence St. Joseph, to provide maternity services.

Midwifery Care

Midwife Laura Doyle provides prenatal care that is different from the typical 10- to 15-minute OB check-up. She spends a full hour with each patient, discussing their health, stress levels, and relationships. Doyle believes that midwifery care can help fill the gaps in maternity services and provide better outcomes for women and babies.

However, midwifery care is not always accessible to low-income families. In California, midwives are not covered by most insurers, and the reimbursement rates for Medi-Cal are too low for many midwives to accept low-income clients. Doyle has negotiated a better deal with the local Medi-Cal payer, Partnership HealthPlan, to serve low-income families in Humboldt County.

Claire Henderson, another patient of Doyle’s, had a difficult experience giving birth at a hospital and sought out midwifery care for her second pregnancy. She gave birth at the Moonstone Midwives Birth Center and had a positive experience, feeling more in control and supported throughout the process.

Original reporting: El Paso News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.