Bigger Than Abortion: Maternity Care Deserts in the US
A recent study by the non-profit organization March of Dimes highlights the difficulty for many women to receive adequate maternity care, both before and after birth. It highlights the brutal reality that over 35% of counties in America are maternity ‘deserts’ meaning there is no access to a birthing facility or obstetric clinician. Maternal care is extremely important for healthy mothers and babies, and access to this care in our country is already difficult, and rapidly declining. It is extremely important that this issue is resolved and better maternity care is provided for mothers and babies, so that pregnancy and birth can be safe in all areas, and so no one feels they need an abortion because motherhood is unsafe.
Adequate maternity care is extremely important for a woman's health before, during and after pregnancy. States where maternity care is the lowest, and there are relatively high amounts of ‘maternity desert’ counties also experience the highest rates for infant mortality. In the state of Georgia, where 42% of counties are maternity deserts, as opposed to a 35% national average, infant and maternity death rates are also higher. The state has the 9th highest infant mortality rate in the country, where about 7 babies die every 1,000 births. There is a clear link between high death rates and low access to maternal health care.
Maternity deserts are a reality in America. 35% of counties in the US qualify as these ‘deserts’ leaving almost 2.3 million women of child bearing age having to travel long distances to get the care they need (if they are able to travel at all). For many of these women, having to give birth in their car on their way to a birth facility or hospital is a reality they must face. The report made by March of the Dimes states further that “access to quality maternity care centers continues to decline, particularly in rural and underserved communities, marking a continued deterioration in maternal and infant care across the US.” The American health system is clearly failing mothers and babies.
At the end of the day, the rapid decline of maternity care in America seems to be about money. An article by the Atlanta Journal Constitution states that “Obstetric services aren’t as profitable as other health services hospitals provide”. We wonder if one of these services is abortion, a deadly product sold to 2,548 American women daily. In the majority of cases, abortion destroys a human life instead of saving it, like quality maternity care would, in a way which is so desperately needed in so many areas of America.
The statistics surrounding maternity deserts are about more than just health care for pregnancy, rather they are about adequate health care for all women. Pregnant women should not be punished, and possibly forced to consider an abortion for lack of better options. For many people, pregnancy is a natural part of womanhood, which should be cherished and supported. If America wants to better support women, the best place to start is maternal health care.
