Expecting families in California's Pajaro Valley are facing a hard new question: where will they give birth next spring? Leaders at Watsonville Community Hospital have warned that the hospital may have to close its labor and delivery unit or risk shutting down entirely by April 2027, according to Santa Cruz Local.
No decision has been made. But the warning lands on a hospital that already closed its neonatal intensive care unit in July and that delivers roughly 31% of all babies born in Santa Cruz County, Lookout Santa Cruz reported on Sept. 28.
