As of Oct. 25, two labor and delivery units in Alabama have closed. Princeton Baptist Medical Center and Shelby Baptist Medical Center have ceased providing maternity care, and Monroe County Hospital will soon join on Nov. 15. This will be devastating for pregnant women in Monroeville County, who will now have to drive 45 minutes to the closest hospital with a labor and delivery unit.
There was a report released in August by March of Dimes detailing just how dire the situation has gotten in the United States. An important statistic to mention is the fact that more than one-third of U.S. counties are considered maternity care deserts. Also notably, there has been a 4% drop in birthing hospitals, with nearly 6 million women living in areas with limited or no access to care.
This is absolutely unacceptable. With so many women having to drive to another county to deliver their child, there are a number of things that could go wrong. If a birth does not go as planned, the pregnant woman could end up in the emergency room without anyone trained in delivering a baby. If there is any kind of complication on the way to the hospital, the mother or child could die before they even get there, not to mention that some do not have access to reliable transportation to take them to the county to have their baby. Something needs to be done to address the lack of maternity care throughout the United States. For a developed country, this is something our citizens should never have to experience. Pregnant women deserve access to quality healthcare.
