The maternal death rate is 60% higher in rural areas as compared to central parts of metropolitan areas. The important legislation aims to attract more health providers to rural areas and identify the root causes of pregnancy-related deaths in rural communities. As rural hospitals continue to close, distance to obstetric care continues to increase. Fewer than half of rural women live within a 30-minute drive to a hospital with obstetric services. Experts have said that long distances and shortages of obstetric care has contributed to the maternal deaths being experienced in rural areas.
