Hospitals Shutter Maternity Wards Amid Falling Birthrates

August 10, 2023

(Wall Street Journal) – The closures are broadening a swath of America without maternity units, commonly communities that are sparsely populated or aging. The trend threatens to worsen infant health and maternal death rates that have hit the highest level in decades.  Hospitals that are closing maternity units said they can’t recruit enough staff to safely operate. Hospitals with fewer births are less attractive to doctors and nurses, executives said. Births at OSF HealthCare St. James-John W. Albrecht Medical Center in Illinois declined to 120 last year from 184 in 2019. (Read More)