The Alarming Trend: Maternity Unit Closures Over the Last Decade
Last Updated: April 22, 2025
Author: Sam Hessami, MD, MHA, FACOG, FACHE
Between 2011 and 2021, nearly half of rural hospitals closed their labor and delivery services. Even in suburban and urban areas, hospitals are consolidating maternity care into fewer locations. This means that expectant mothers must travel longer distances—sometimes over an hour—to reach a facility equipped to handle childbirth.
The consequences are severe:
Increased risk of delivering outside of a hospital setting, leading to complications.
Higher maternal mortality and morbidity rates, particularly for marginalized communities.
Overburdened hospitals in regions where maternity units have been consolidated, resulting in delays in care.
The question is not just where mothers will give birth, but how safely they will do so.
Why Are Labor and Delivery Units Closing?
Several complex factors are driving the closure of maternity units, making it difficult for hospitals to sustain these critical services.
1. Provider Shortages: A Decline in OB/GYNs and Nurses
Obstetricians and certified nurse midwives are in short supply, particularly in rural areas.
Fewer medical students are choosing obstetrics due to high malpractice insurance costs, unpredictable hours, and the stress of the job.
Labor and delivery nurses, essential to safe childbirth, are also in short supply, making it difficult for hospitals to maintain a stable workforce.
How AI Can Help:
AI-driven workforce optimization tools can help hospitals allocate and manage staff more efficiently, ensuring coverage where it's needed most.
Telemedicine powered by AI can provide virtual prenatal and postnatal care, reducing the need for in-person visits in areas with provider shortages.
2. Rising Labor Costs and the Challenge of Staffing 24/7
Unlike other hospital departments, L&D units must be staffed around the clock, regardless of how many births occur each day.
Keeping an on-call team of obstetricians, anesthesiologists, and nurses is expensive, especially in hospitals with low patient volumes.
Many hospitals struggle to justify these costs when they could reallocate resources to more profitable departments.
How AI Can Help:
AI-powered predictive analytics can forecast patient volume, allowing hospitals to adjust staffing dynamically while maintaining quality care.
AI-based clinical decision support systems can assist fewer on-site staff by providing real-time alerts and guidance, reducing the burden on overwhelmed providers.
3. The Unpredictable Nature of Obstetrics
Unlike scheduled surgeries, childbirth is unpredictable—hospitals never know when an emergency C-section or complicated labor will arise.
This uncertainty makes staffing and resource allocation inherently inefficient compared to other hospital units.
Unpredictability also increases liability risks, adding to the already high cost of running a maternity unit.
How AI Can Help:
AI can analyze historical birth trends and patient data to better predict when maternity units will be busiest, helping optimize resource allocation.
AI-assisted real-time maternal monitoring systems can detect early warning signs of complications, allowing for faster interventions and reducing the need for emergency staffing surges.
The Future: AI as a Lifeline for Maternal Healthcare
While the closure of labor and delivery units presents a growing crisis, AI-driven innovations offer hope in keeping maternal healthcare accessible and efficient.
1. AI-powered remote monitoring allows doctors to track maternal health in real-time, identifying complications before they become life-threatening.
2. Smart alarms and AI-driven early warning systems can detect risks such as hemorrhage or fetal distress, prompting timely interventions.
3. AI-driven scheduling and staffing tools can help struggling hospitals operate more efficiently, reducing labor costs without compromising care.
Conclusion: A Call to Action
The silent closure of labor and delivery units is not just a hospital problem—it’s a national maternal health crisis. As hospitals continue to shut down these vital services, maternal mortality rates will rise unless we act now.
Policymakers, healthcare leaders, and AI innovators must come together to invest in smart, technology-driven solutions that allow maternity units to remain open, even in resource-limited areas. AI alone won’t solve the crisis, but it can help optimize resources, reduce costs, and save lives—because every mother deserves safe, timely, and high-quality care.
Contact us today for a demo and discover how the Birth Model can empower your team while enhancing patient safety and satisfaction!
