Alabama creates more maternity care deserts as labor units are shuttered

USincognito said:

Fears rise as 3 maternity units prepare to close in Alabama

The state has one of the country’s highest maternal mortality rates. Now, three hospitals plan to stop delivering babies, putting some pregnant women at even higher risk.

www.nbcnews.com

>> By the end of the month, two Alabama hospitals will stop delivering babies. A third will follow suit a few weeks later.

That will leave two counties — Shelby and Monroe — without any birthing hospitals, and strip a predominantly Black neighborhood in Birmingham of a sought-after maternity unit.

fter that, pregnant women in Shelby County will have to travel at least 17 miles farther to reach a hospital with an OB-GYN. And because the county, one of Alabama’s largest, is bordered by another whose hospital also lacks an obstetrics unit, some of those residents are also losing the closest place they could go to deliver their babies.

“There’s a sense of dread knowing that there’s going to be families who are now not only driving to the county over, but driving through three counties,” said Honour McDaniel, director of maternal and infant health initiatives for the March of Dimes in Alabama.

People in Monroe County, meanwhile, could face drives between 35 to 100 miles to a labor and delivery department. <<

The culture of life strikes again.

>> The state has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country; only three others had higher rates between 2018 and 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Alabama also had the nation’s third-highest infant mortality rate in 2021, the latest data available. <<

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Hazelelponi said:

The pro life crowd is unsure how this affects the pro life crowd or the pro life position, since this has nothing to do with pro life anything and most people would agree with the article that reimbursements from Medicaid to physicians and hospitals are too low.

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Larniavc said:

This is what Christian Nationalists policies cause to happen.

Well done.

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essentialsaltes said:

While [Gov] Sanders didn’t endorse expanded postpartum coverage through Medicaid [one of only two states to opt not to do so], she has said she wants to do a better job of educating women before and after giving birth about existing resources and insurance options.

“The solution is not more government programs. The solution is getting women to take advantage of the programs we already have,” she said in issuing her directive. Advocates worry that her overall focus on cutting taxes signals that she may not be willing to fund any significant projects associated with reproductive health.

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DaisyDay said:

So it's the women's own dumb fault for dying? If only they had educated themselves on insurance options!

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Desk trauma said:

It’s the next steps from they should have just abstained.

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Desk trauma said:

It’s the next steps from they should have just abstained.

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DaisyDay said:

I don't know if married ladies are allowed to abstain. According to Vance, we need more Christian babies.

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