The Attitudes Of Rural Pennsylvanians On Maternal Health?

Pennsylvania’s health deserts are increasing due to 33 hospital closures in 20 years, with a clear disparity between urban and rural areas. In rural areas, 47.6 of women live over 30 minutes from a birthing hospital compared to 11.9 of women living in urban areas. Obstetricians are in short supply in many rural parts of Pennsylvania, and a higher percentage are over 75 years old. This study examines access to maternity care and explores solutions for increasing access by analyzing federal and state-level data.

Healthcare representatives and policymakers in Pennsylvania are warning of declining maternity services in rural parts of the commonwealth, which can lead to various negative consequences for both pregnant women and infants. Pregnant women living in rural communities share the places that support or hinder their family’s health, and how they want local investments used. March of Dimes, a national nonprofit that works to improve maternal and child health, considers five rural Pennsylvania counties “maternity care deserts”, which have a significant decrease in births in the last fifteen years.

Mothers and birthing parents in rural communities are less likely to have supportive, community-based care and experience maternal health issues. The report presents data on levels of maternity care access and maternity care deserts by county, as well as distance to birthing hospitals. Pennsylvania’s rural hospitals have staffing shortages, leaving patients in rural communities with dwindling options for care.