A mother prepares her infant son for bed. Since 2020, 36 states have lost at least one rural labor and delivery department. In rural counties, the loss of hospital-based obstetric care is associated with increases in births in hospital emergency rooms, less prenatal care and higher rates of babies being born too early. JOHN MOORE/GETTY IMAGES
BY ANNA CLAIRE VOLLERSStateline More than 100 hospitals across 26 states have closed their labor and delivery units since 2020 Nine months after Monroe County…
