Between 2010 and 2023, there have been continued declines in access to hospital-based obstetric services in both rural and urban US communities. New research from the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center finds that, by 2023, these losses resulted in 60 percent of rural counties and 38 percent of urban counties not having any hospital-based obstetric services.
Access the report here: Availability of Hospital-Based Obstetric Services in the United States by County, 2010–2023: A State-by-State Report.
Learn more at the Rural Health Research Gateway.
The University of Minnesota holds one of eight HRSA/FORHP-funded Rural Health Research Center awards, the only Federal resource for policy-relevant research on health care in rural areas.