Expectant Idaho mom dismayed over closure of maternity ward
- A maternity ward at a Bonner County, Idaho, hospital is ceasing operations
- One expectant mother will now have to travel 50 miles for her delivery
- The hospital cited abortion laws as part of the reason for the closure
(NewsNation) — A maternity ward at a hospital in Bonner County, Idaho, is the latest across the country that plans to cease operations, forcing expectant mothers to travel many miles to deliver their babies safely.
That includes Leandra Wright, who is pregnant with her seventh child. She planned to deliver at Bonner General Health, which announced last month it is discontinuing its labor and delivery services in May.
Wright found out on social media.
“I read the local article on Facebook, and it cited a couple of different reasons, including our Idaho legislature, lack of funds, lack of pediatricians to take care of newborns, lack of doctors,” she said Friday on “CUOMO.” “It never never made a whole lot of sense to me, any of the reasons, because it just creates a landslide of issues to come, regardless of any of them.”
Hospital leaders in a news release cited a pediatrician shortage, a declining number of deliveries and Idaho’s “legal and political climate.”
The state has banned abortion at all stages except in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life is in danger, and earlier this month, the legislature passed a law banning out-of-state travel for abortions. Physicians who provide abortion services in the state can be criminally prosecuted.
“We have made every effort to avoid eliminating these services,” Ford Elsaesser, Bonner General Health’s board president, said in the statement. “We hoped to be the exception, but our challenges are impossible to overcome now.”
Dr. David Montgomery, a board-certified cardiologist, said economics at rural hospitals can play a role, too. He noted that Medicaid pays about only 40% of what private insurance companies do for deliveries.
“You can hardly keep the lights on, let alone sort of get the high quality experienced providers, nurses doctors, ICU staff to take care of people when they need it,” Montgomery said.
The nearest hospital to Wright is roughly 50 miles away, presenting a challenge in the event of a quick or unexpected labor. She’s already experienced that once with her 15-year-old son, who was born on the way to the hospital.
“I have had pretty quick labors with my last three kids,” she said.
Wright told CNN the termination of the obstetrics services is “frustrating and worrisome” and she said she and her fiancé are considering leaving the state after 10 years because of the loss of care.
“I feel safe being with (my) doctors. Now, I have to get to know a doctor within a couple of months before my next baby is born,” she told CNN.
Montgomery called it “disheartening” that physicians are leaving the field because of the political landscape.
“All of this is making it very very hard for my colleagues in obstetrics and other fields to want to do what we really just went to medical school for,” he said. “I know it sounds trite, but all we want to do is to help people.”