Louisville Public Media: March of Dimes report highlights maternity deserts, as Alabama midwife tries to expand access for Black moms

Louisville Public Media reported Aug. 11 on the growing problem of “maternity deserts,” areas where expectant parents have no labor and delivery hospital nearby. Citing a new March of Dimes research brief, the article says more than half of U.S. counties have no labor and delivery hospitals, a condition that can force pregnant patients to travel farther for delivery and related maternity care.

The report frames the consequences through the experience of Black mothers and infants, who researchers say face additional barriers to timely, local maternal health services. In the account, those gaps are not described as a theoretical issue, but as an access problem that can affect where families deliver, how quickly they can reach appropriate care, and whether they can receive consistent prenatal support tied to delivery locations.

LPM’s story centers on an Alabama midwife who, according to the reporting, crosses long distances to help address those shortages for Black moms and babies. The article describes the midwife’s work as a practical response to the limits created when hospitals that offer labor and delivery services are not available in a given county or nearby area.

The March of Dimes analysis referenced in the story also emphasizes that maternity access is shaped by geography, not only by whether a hospital exists somewhere in a state. With labor and delivery services absent in many counties, the report points to travel burden and the administrative and logistical hurdles that can accompany finding a safe delivery site, particularly for families already managing cost, transportation, and health system complexities.

For Kentucky, LPM’s use of the maternity desert research serves as a reminder that state lines do not change the underlying geography of maternal care access. Even when residents can access services within a broader region, the lack of nearby labor and delivery hospitals can change how quickly care is reached during late pregnancy, labor, or unexpected complications, and it can influence how clinicians plan referrals and support.

The article’s narrative also connects maternity desert conditions to equity concerns, noting that Black mothers and babies can be disproportionately affected by gaps in care. LPM does not treat the problem as uniform across all communities, but as one that interacts with race, access, and the availability of maternity providers and facilities.

While the Alabama midwife’s approach is presented as an individual effort to reduce distance barriers, the wider reporting question remains what public health systems and policy makers can do to address county-level shortages of labor and delivery hospitals. The March of Dimes work referenced by LPM underscores that the issue is widespread enough to be identified at the county level, suggesting that responses likely require coordinated planning rather than only case-by-case solutions.

The LPM report was published in the context of ongoing national attention to maternal health outcomes, with the “maternity desert” framing used to explain why access to delivery care remains uneven across the country. The story leaves room for follow-up reporting on how regional referral networks, hospital service decisions, and community-based maternal health support can be structured to reduce travel distances and improve continuity of care for pregnant patients.