On the heels of financial pressures and workforce shortages experienced in 2023, many hospitals and health systems are continuing to face maternity service closures in 2024.
In rural areas, more than 200 hospitals across the U.S. have been forced to shut down delivery services in the last decade while still expected to perform deliveries for nearly 1 in 10 babies across the country.
In fact, a Becker's poll that asked healthcare leaders how concerned their hospital, health system or practice is with the rate of maternity cuts and closures, 51% of the 378 respondents said "very concerned" (Note: Becker's has no insights on respondents).
Becker's has reported on the following hospitals ending maternity care in 2024, along with closure plans, pauses and transfer statuses:
1. Stuart, Fla.-based Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital is ending its labor and delivery services April 1 and transferring them to Port St. Lucie, Fla.-based Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital.
2. Cincinnati-based Mercy Health—West Hospital, part of Cincinnati-based Mercy Health, has shared plans to end its obstetrics labor and delivery program. The services will be transitioned to Mercy Health-Anderson Hospital, also in Cincinnati, beginning Dec. 20.
3. ThedaCare Medical Center Waupaca (Wis.), part of Neenah, Wis.-based ThedaCare, has shared plans to close its labor and delivery services Feb. 15.
4. St. Louis-based Ascension will close labor and delivery units at its Ascension Columbia St. Mary's Hospital-Ozaukee in Mequon and Ascension SE Wisconsin Hospital-Elmbrook in Brookfield as part of consolidation plans.
5. Stafford, Conn.-based Johnson Memorial Hospital, part of Hartford, Conn.-based Trinity Health of New England, received approval from Connecticut's Office of Health Strategy to terminate its labor and delivery services.
6. Belfast-based MaineHealth Waldo Hospital shared plans to restructure its obstetrics and end its labor and delivery services, effective April 1, 2025.
7. Evanston (Wyo.) Regional Hospital will shutter its labor and delivery services Dec. 30 due to a decline in demand.
8. Arcata, Calif.-based Mad River Community Hospital ended its labor and delivery services Oct. 31.
9. Lebanon, N.H.-based Dartmouth Heath will no longer provide labor and delivery services at Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, N.H., effective June 15, ending a long-standing contract between the two.
10. Seattle-based Virginia Mason Medical Center, part of Tacoma, Wash.-based Virginia Mason Franciscan Health, will shutter its Family Birth Center and Franciscan Women's Health Associates Clinic on Nov. 16 as the result of a review of current and future needs at the hospital.
11. Mayo Clinic Health System in Fairmont, Minn., will permanently close its surgical and labor and delivery units, effective March 31, due to a shortage of physicians in the area.
12. University of Southern California Verdugo Hills Hospital in Glendale will shut down its labor and delivery services, along with its neonatal intensive care unit, on Nov. 20. The decision comes following an examination of community needs, shifting demographics and hospital services.
13. MercyOne Newton (Iowa) Medical Center indefinitely paused its labor and delivery services, effective after Oct. 15, due to Newton Clinic ending its recruitment of physicians who are dedicated to labor and delivery obstetrics services.
14. Hemet (Calif.) Global Medical Center, a 327-bed facility, closed its labor and delivery department at the end of October due to low birth numbers and a physician shortage. The closure is expected to affect 35 employees.
15. Santa Paula (Calif.) Hospital closed its births and intensive care services Oct. 15, pending approval from state officials.
16. Robbinsdale, Minn.-based North Memorial Health closed the specialty nursery unit at its hospital in the city due to declining birth rates.
17. Aspirus Medford (Wis.) Hospital and Clinics shared plans to transition maternal care services to a separate location starting Oct. 1 amid a shrinking OB-GYN pipeline. Aspirus Medford will still provide prenatal and postnatal care, but deliveries will be performed at the Aspirus Wausau (Wis.) Hospital Birthing Center.
18. Grove Hill (Ala.) Memorial Hospital ended its labor and delivery services on Aug. 16.
19. Kansas City, Kan.-based Providence Medical Center, part of Ontario, Calif.-based Prime Healthcare, closed its labor and delivery services on June 30. The closure was due to a declining rate of labor and delivery patients at the hospital.
20. Bluffton (Ind.) Regional Medical Center and Dukes Memorial Hospital in Peru, Ind., part of Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Lutheran Health Network, ended their inpatient labor and delivery services due to decreased birth rates. Bluffton Regional closed its labor and delivery services May 23 and Dukes Memorial shut down its services on June 13.
21. Marshfield Medical Center-Rice Lake (Wis.), a regional hospital of Marshfield (Wis.) Clinic Health System, paused its labor and delivery services on May 1 due to limited staffing. The temporary pause was expected to last 30 to 60 days.
22. Mercy Health-Fairfield (Ohio) Hospital, part of Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health, shut down its labor and delivery services and transferred them to Mercy Health-Anderson Hospital and Mercy Health-West Hospital, both in Cincinnati, on May 1.
23. Eau Claire, Wis.-based Sacred Heart Hospital, part of Springfield, Ill.-based Hospital Sisters Health System, closed on March 22. The hospital was delivering babies as of Jan. 3, according to a post on its Facebook page.
24. The obstetrics services at Adventist Health Tulare (Calif.) paused on June 6 for an unspecified amount of time. The hospital's emergency room will continue treating obstetrics patients and delivering babies on an emergency basis.
25. Scripps Mercy Chula Vista (Calif.) hospital, part of San Diego-based Scripps Health, shared plans to transfer its obstetrics care services and Rady Children's neonatal intensive care unit to its Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego campus. The change in services affected around 135 employees at Scripps Mercy Chula Vista. Scripps said it is making efforts to find other career opportunities within Scripps and with its community partners for those affected.
26. Vineland, N.J.-based Inspira Health shuttered the midwifery program at its Inspira Medical Center Elmer (N.J.) location in April after assessing its maternity care's current landscape and internal operations.
27. Caldwell, Idaho-based West Valley Medical Center, part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, closed its labor and delivery and neonatal intensive care unit April 1. The decision comes amid a decline in birth rates and challenges in securing consistent coverage. The hospital said it hopes to retain as many employees as possible by offering new career opportunities in other care areas.
28. Froedtert Menomonee Falls (Wis.) Hospital shut down its birth center and moved services to Wauwatosa, Wis.-based Froedtert Hospital and Froedtert West Bend (Wis.) Hospital. No positions were expected to be eliminated due to the care shift.
29. Miami-based North Shore Medical Center, part of Dallas-based Steward Health Care, closed patient care in its obstetrics unit on Feb. 14, a few weeks earlier than its initial March 10 planned closure. The cuts include the hospital's neonatal unit as well as labor and delivery. Staffing level challenges and overall business plan adjustments were part of the early closure decision, a spokesperson for North Shore Medical Center said in a statement shared with Becker's.
30. Adventist Health Simi Valley (Calif.) hospital, part of Roseville, Calif.-based Adventist Health, ended its labor and delivery services and closed its neonatal intensive care unit May 8. The cuts stem from high costs, labor shortages, inflation and a 25% decline in birth rate at the hospital.
31. St. Marys, Pa.-based Penn Highlands Elk, part of DuBois, Pa.-based Penn Highlands Healthcare, closed its labor and delivery services on May 1 and transferred services to the Maternal and Child Center at Penn Highlands DuBois. "This transition only impacts labor and delivery; all other prenatal and postpartum care and gynecological services will continue to be offered at Penn Highlands Elk," Trina Abla, DO, chief medical officer of Penn Highlands Healthcare, said in a Penn Highlands Healthcare news release.
32. Mayo Clinic Health System's New Prague, Minn., site closed its labor and delivery services on Feb. 9 due to low birth volumes and physician shortages.
33. Essentia Health-Fosston (Minn.) hospital shuttered its labor and delivery services, prompting a Minnesota Department of Health public hearing on Jan. 30. High-risk pregnancy growth, a decrease in birth volumes, and provider recruitment challenges were all factors in the hospital's decision. Fosston's city leaders are aiming to reclaim the hospital to keep services from closing.
34. Smithtown, N.Y.-based St. Catherine of Siena Hospital reportedly closed its maternity ward on Feb. 1. The hospital, part of Rockville Centre, N.Y.-based Catholic Health, announced the ward's closure in late December.
35. Troy, Ohio-based Upper Valley Medical Center, part of Dayton, Ohio-based Premier Health, shut down its labor and delivery unit on Feb. 29. A declined birth rate and physician recruitment challenges were factors in the center's unit closure decision.
36. Blacksburg, Va.-based LewisGale Hospital Montgomery, part of HCA Virginia Health System, closed its obstetrics services temporarily, effective April 1. Recruitment challenges for full-time OB-GYNs was listed as the hospital's deciding factor.