Across Ohio, Hospital Delivery Rooms Are Disappearing

Nearly half of Ohio counties lack a hospital with labor and delivery services, per a new March of Dimes report — and that now includes Delaware County, after Grady Memorial Hospital stopped delivering babies this month.

OhioHealth's controversial decision in one of the state's fastest-growing and wealthiest counties illustrates how loss of maternity care isn't just a rural issue. Longer distances are associated with delayed emergency care and a higher risk of unplanned out-of-hospital births, per the report.

Labor and delivery units are closing amid declining birth rates, workforce shortages and financial pressures. As of May, 52.5 percent of U.S. counties did not have one.

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