On the heels of financial pressures and workforce shortages experienced last year, many hospitals and health systems are continuing to face maternity service closures in 2024.

In rural areas, more than 200 hospitals across the U.S. have been forced to shut down delivery services in the last decade, while still expected to perform deliveries for nearly 1 in 10 babies across the country. 

Becker’s has reported on the following hospitals ending maternity care in 2024, along with closure plan statuses:

1. Essentia Health-Fosston (Minn.) hospital has shuttered its labor and delivery services. High-risk pregnancy growth, a decrease in birth volumes, and provider recruitment challenges were all factors in the hospital’s decision. A Minnesota Department of Health public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 30 to discuss the closure. 

2. Stafford, Conn.-based Johnson Memorial Hospital, run by Trinity Health of New England, has been denied its labor and delivery unit proposed closure. The denial from Connecticut’s office of health strategy points to an adverse effect on the less wealthy, not saving patients money and a reduction of care access. 

3. Smithtown, N.Y.-based St. Catherine of Siena Hospital nurses held a town hall Jan. 18 to speak out against the hospital’s planned maternity ward closure on Feb. 1. The hospital, part of Rockville Centre, N.Y.-based Catholic Health, announced the ward’s closure in late December. 

4. A closure plan has been submitted for Troy, N.Y.-based Samaritan Hospital’s Burdett Birth Center, part of Albany, N.Y.-based St. Peter’s Health Partners, to the state Department of Health. The plan comes after St. Peter’s received a cease-and-desist letter from the health department that ordered against closing beds or services at the center. 

5. New York City-based NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital is closing its midwifery services March 3 to evolve its perinatal care model and care teams. The decision has been met with backlash from the New York State Nurses Association who asked the hospital to “immediately reconsider” its decision. 

6. Troy, Ohio-based Upper Valley Medical Center, part of Dayton, Ohio-based Premier Health, is shutting down its labor and delivery unit on Feb. 29. A declined birth rate and physician recruitment challenges were factors in the center’s unit closure decision. 

7. Blacksburg, Va.-based LewisGale Hospital Montgomery, part of HCA Virginia Health System, will close its obstetrics services temporarily, effective April 1. Recruitment challenges for full-time OB-GYNs was listed as the hospital’s deciding factor.