The number of Georgia counties without maternity care access is growing into a national problem.
This is according to the latest analysis from the March of Dimes, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the health of mothers and their babies.
More than one-third of counties across the United States are classified as maternity care deserts—counties with limited or no access to birthing hospitals, obstetric care, or obstetric providers.
Nationwide, the report found the shortages affect more than 5.6 million women and nearly 350,000 births.
A key reason behind the expansion of maternity care deserts is a continuing increase in hospital closures, said Tamara Mason, director of maternal and child health collective impact with the Atlanta chapter of the March of Dimes.
“Nationally and with Georgia following that same trend, about 1 in 25 hospitals have closed throughout the country,” she said. “And we’ve definitely seen hospital closures here in Georgia.”
They include Wellstar Health System’s closures of their Atlanta Medical Center hospital in the Old Fourth Ward and its East Point AMC-South hospital two years ago.
Women living in maternity care deserts in Georgia are forced to travel three times farther than people living in counties with full access to care, according to the March of Dimes.
“The farther a woman travels to receive maternity care, the greater the risk of maternal morbidity and adverse infant outcomes, such as stillbirth and NICU admission,” according to the report.
The disparities disproportionately impact rural communities, Black women and low-income Georgians.
Research has long shown that access to care is critical in preventing pregnancy complications and improving maternal and infant health outcomes.
“We are not doing a good job in terms of providing access to quality maternity care for our moms or birthing people and for families,” Mason said. “Nationally, since our report was released two years ago, 35% of all U.S. counties are considered are maternity care deserts.”
Gov. Brian Kemp has touted his administration’s efforts to address the state’s care gaps and grow the healthcare workforce.
Earlier this year, Kemp enacted a bill expanding a student loan forgiveness program for some rural healthcare professionals. In addition, he passed House Bill 1339, which loosens the state’s Certificate of Need rules to allow for new or expanded birthing centers in the state and increase access to pregnancy and childbirth services in rural counties.
Still, disparities in health insurance coverage remain an issue, with roughly 1 in 6 women of childbearing age (17.2%) being uninsured in Georgia in 2021.
