MONROEVILLE, Ala. (NewsNation) — A growing number of hospitals across the country are closing their maternity units, citing issues with staffing and rising costs. This includes three birthing and delivery units in Alabama over the next few weeks.
It’s forcing mothers to have to travel further and further to get the care they need to deliver their babies. Sometimes the closest maternity hospital is two or three counties away, and those in the medical community say the lack of care can be dangerous for mothers and their newborns.
When it comes to giving birth, time matters. Driving to a hospital far away from home is becoming a reality for more and more expectant mothers.
In Alabama, three hospitals will shutter their maternity units in the next few weeks, leaving mothers like Alisha Bowen looking for a new doctor at 28 weeks pregnant.
“I should be picking out cribs, not doctors,” Bowen said. “I was devastated for myself. It changes my birth plan quite significantly.”
Bowen will now need to drive 90 minutes away to a hospital in Mobile, Alabama, for her Dec. 28 due date. And she may not be alone.
More than 5.6 million women live in areas with little to no access to maternal care, according to March of Dimes. Hospitals are faced with staffing and recruitment issues as well as rising costs and low birth volumes, particularly in more rural areas, the organization reported.
“We are a small community and so you have to be willing to come to a small community to work,” Belinda Dorrance said.
Dorrance was a nurse for 40 years at one of the Alabama hospitals facing a maternity closure. She said important connections will be lost.
“The relationship between an expectant mom and her delivering physician is so special,” Dorrance said.
Monroe County Hospital issued a statement in response to its decision to close its maternity ward:
“We understand the profound impact this may have on expectant families in our community. Please know that we have explored every possible avenue to maintain this service.”
A separate hospital group that is closing two of its maternity units sent a statement that says the decision was made after careful consideration and will allow these hospitals to “focus more strongly on services patients trust them to provide.”
NewsNation reached out to the Alabama Department of Health for comment but has not yet heard back.