IOWA, USA — Each year, it gets harder for rural Iowans to get to a birth and delivery unit.
The Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform found that over half of rural U.S. hospitals no longer offer labor and delivery services. That same report found that of the rural hospitals still providing care, a third are experiencing a financial loss in overall patient services.
The report also found that 62% of rural hospitals in Iowa don't offer birth services as of July 2024. There are a number of compounding reasons for this, including staffing issues and financial struggles.
Another report from Iowa State University, the Iowa Department of Public Health and Iowa MIEHV found that at least 41 Iowa hospitals have closed their labor and delivery units since 2000. Those hospitals, which represent about a third of all in Iowa, are mostly located in rural areas.
In those same areas, birth numbers have plummeted.
Since the baby boom of the 1950s and 60s, birth rates across the country have dropped by about 14%. In Iowa, that number is up to 43% and in some rural counties, births have decreased by three-quarters compared to 1957 numbers. In fact, only four Iowa counties saw birth rates increase in that same time frame, and they were all urban or suburban counties.
KFF Health News reporter, Tony Leys, dove into Iowa's rural hospitals, their closures, declining birth rates and the people left behind. You can read his full report here. He joined The Current on News 8 to discuss his findings. You can watch the full interview in the above video.
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