A growing body of research suggests having to travel to receive obstetrics care leads to higher costs, greater complication risks and longer hospital stays, which is bad news for the half a million women in rural areas who are finding it harder to access care, Healthline reports.
The need to travel from rural areas for obstetrics care stems from more and more rural hospitals closing down their labor and delivery rooms, or closing altogether. Research aggregated by Healthline suggests two major factors are driving the closure of these specialized units: money and difficulty staffing.
"In some areas, facilities can struggle to maintain safe and comprehensive obstetric and pediatric services because meeting today's standards of care, including readiness for the rare but potentially serious complications related to childbirth, as well as covering the high cost of malpractice insurance for both providers and facilities, can be cost-prohibitive for facilities with limited financial resources," said Maribeth McLaughlin, RN, BSN, CNO and vice president of patient care services at Magee-Womens Hospital of the UPMC.
Ms. McLaughlin outlined several possible solutions to this problem for Healthline, including creating affiliations with other hospitals to share providers and resources and developing a stable workforce. She also hopes to see Congress designate maternity care health professional shortage areas and technology come into play more.
"Telemedicine, ultrasound and other technology can help, identifying potential issues before they become crises," Ms. McLaughlin told Healthline.
To read the full report, click here.