Millions of Americans are losing access to maternal care. Here's what can be done

This map from the nonprofit March of Dimes shows maternity care deserts across the U.S. in 2020. (March of Dimes/US Health Resources and Services Administration.)

Access to maternity care is decreasing in the parts of the U.S. that need it the most, affecting nearly 7 million women of childbearing age and some 500,000 babies.

That's according to a report released Tuesday by March of Dimes, a nonprofit focused on maternal and infant health. It finds that 36% of counties nationwide — largely in the Midwest and South — constitute "maternity care deserts," meaning they have no obstetric hospitals or birth centers and no obstetric providers.