According to a report by the March of Dimes, 34.6% of US counties qualify as maternity care deserts, leaving roughly 2.4 million women of childbearing age without access to essential care. These areas are home to about 149,000 babies born each year, with an additional 3.4 million women living in areas with low or moderate access to care.

Maternity Care Deserts Across the US

The report notes that 96 labor and delivery units across 35 states closed between January 2024 and May 2026, resulting in longer travel distances for patients seeking care. On average, these closures added 25 minutes of travel time, which can lead to delayed prenatal care, higher rates of maternal morbidity, and increased admissions to neonatal intensive care units.

Women living in maternity care deserts travel about three times farther for labor and delivery services than those in counties with full care access. The report highlights geographic disparities in healthcare access, with more than half of all US counties having no hospital offering labor and delivery services, affecting roughly 370,000 births annually.

Insurance coverage remains another factor, with about 1 in 9 women of childbearing age being uninsured, particularly in rural communities, the American South, and maternity care deserts. Since 2010, uninsured rates for women aged 19 to 54 dropped 45% nationwide under the Affordable Care Act, though states that did not expand Medicaid saw a smaller reduction of 35%.

To address these disparities, the March of Dimes outlined several ongoing efforts and proposed legislation, including support for the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act, a bill reintroduced in Congress to fund emergency obstetric training for healthcare workers in rural settings.

Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.