COMMENTARY
Eli Y. Adashi, MD, MS; Daniel P. O’Mahony, MSLS; I. Glenn Cohen, JD
Corresponding Author: Eli Y. Adashi, MD, MS; Brown University
Email: Eli_Adashi@brown.edu
DOI: 10.3122/jabfm.2024.240198R1
Keywords: Health Policy, Maternal Health
Dates: Submitted: 05-19-2024; Revised: 08-01-2024; Accepted: 08-05-2024
FINAL PUBLICATION: |HTML| |PDF|
Maternal care deserts, defined as counties where there are no hospitals offering obstetric services or birth centers and no obstetricians, gynecologists, or certified nurse midwives, have a significant adverse effect on the quality of maternity care afforded women in the United States, especially Black women and women in rural areas. The maternal mortality rate for Black women in 2022 was 2.6 times higher than the rate for White women. The rate in the most rural counties is 1.6 times higher than the rate in large metropolitan counties. Across the nation, 36 percent of all U.S. counties qualify as maternal care deserts, contributing to the country’s poor placement globally among high-income nations. A recent report by the March of Dimes draws attention to the crisis in maternal health care. A number of interventions have been proposed by federal government entities to address the persistent problem. Family physicians in particular have a potential role in improving the situation as they represent the broadest geographic coverage of all maternity care providers.