More than 2 million U.S. women live in areas devoid of proper maternity care

Maternity care deserts — areas without hospitals that offer obstetric care, birth centers, or a specialized provider — continue to be a problem in the U.S., according to a new March of Dimes report, even as U.S. women die of pregnancy complications at rates higher than women in other high-income nations. More than 2.2 million women of childbearing age live in such deserts, according to the report, and an additional 4.8 million live in areas with limited access to maternity care. Women in the rural U.S. are especially at risk of giving birth without proper access to care: There are more than four times as many rural counties that are maternity care deserts than urban counties, and only 8% of obstetrics providers report working in rural areas. At the same time, 1 in 3 women of childbearing age in a maternity care desert lives in an urban setting.