York (Maine) Hospital is closing its birthing center by the end of the month. Hospital officials noted that the decision to do so is the result of a decline in births and a shortage of workers, Portland Press Herald reported Sept. 12.
The hospital is the sixth in Maine to shutter its maternity care services since 2015, according to the outlet. Hospital officials are working withpatients to coordinate a transfer of care to the Dover, N.H.-based Wentworth-Douglass Hospital, which is about 15 miles away.
York Hospital will still provide pre and post-natal care, but not labor and delivery services. It is an independent hospital not affiliated with any larger organization.