A Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform report found that less than 42% of U.S. rural hospitals still offer labor and delivery services. That same report found more than 100 rural hospitals have halted or plan to stop delivering babies since 2020.
Becker’s has reported on the following hospitals ending maternity care in 2025, along with closure plans, pauses and transfer statuses:
1. Linton, Ind.-based Greene County General Hospital will end obstetric services effective Jan. 31 as part of a strategic transition in response to long-term challenges facing rural hospitals nationwide — including rising costs, underpayment from payers and a steady decline in local birth volume.
2. Lynchburg, Va.-based Centra Health will close the labor and delivery unit and OB-GYN surgical services at its Centra Southside Community Hospital, along with outpatient care at its CMG Southside Women’s Center, both in Farmville, Va., on Dec. 19.
3. Minneapolis-based Allina Health shared plans to close its Faribault (Minn.) Birth Center on Dec. 1. The health system will consolidate labor and delivery services to its Owatonna (Minn.) Hospital as part of a new regional obstetric care model.
4. Kettering (Ohio) Health will end obstetric services at Beavercreek, Ohio-based Soin Medical Center and transition them to Kettering (Ohio) Health Main Campus and Kettering Health Washington Township in Dayton. The system cited the national and local decline in birth rates as its reason.
5. King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services’ Southwest Healthcare Corona (Calif.) Regional Medical Center will close its maternity services (labor and delivery) on Jan. 30. The hospital pointed to a declining birth rate in the county over the past few years for its decision.
6. Delta (Colo.) Health ended its obstetrics services Sept. 17 and partnered with Montrose (Colo.) Regional Health’s Alpine Women’s Centre and its Family Center to ensure its OB patients have a smooth care transition.
7. Platte County Hospital in Wheatland, Wyo., part of Phoenix-based Banner Health, paused inpatient labor and delivery services on Oct. 15. There will be no job losses from this decision. The hospital pointed to various “industrywide challenges facing rural hospitals, including declining delivery volumes over several years and provider recruitment challenges” for the decision.
8. Athens, Ga.-based St. Mary’s Health Care System will end labor and delivery services at St. Mary’s Sacred Heart Hospital in Lavonia, Ga., and consolidate them with those at its St. Mary’s Hospital in Athens, due to continued “significant challenges” like Medicaid cuts and physician recruitment.
9. UF Health Leesburg (Fla.) Hospital will end its labor and delivery services “later this fall” as part of broader alignment at the facility. The hospital is part of Gainesville, Fla.-based UF Health.
10. Wausau, Wis.-based Aspirus Health plans to end labor and delivery services at its Ironwood (Mich.) Hospital and Clinics on Dec. 31 as part of a new service model at the facility.
11. Providence Seaside (Ore.) Hospital closed its inpatient obstetric and newborn care services on Oct. 4. Hospital leaders pointed to declining delivery volumes and continued shortages of physicians and local nurses trained and skilled in maternity as the primary drivers for the service closure.
12. Memorial Hospital Biloxi (Miss.) ended its obstetrics services and transferred them to Memorial Hospital Gulfport (Miss.) on Sept. 1. The hospitals are part of Memorial Hospital System in Gulfport.
13. Kansas City, Mo.-based Research Medical Center, part of Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare’s HCA Midwest Health, shuttered its neonatal ICU and end labor and delivery services on Sept. 8. The hospital conducts regular reviews and found that it has seen a more than 80% decrease in community use for both services.
14. Jackson South Medical Center, part of Jackson Health System, both in Miami, closed its maternity ward unit on Aug. 15.
15. Morrisville, Vt.-based Copley Hospital plans to close its birthing center after its board voted June 17 to shutter it and transition to a regional care model. The hospital pointed to a low birth rate across the state and limited resources.
16. Missoula, Mont.-based Providence St. Patrick Hospital has shared plans to close its family maternity center due to existing and expected healthcare industry challenges, including a declining birth rate and workforce shortages.
17. Burlington, Kan.-based Coffey County Hospital ended its obstetrics services on June 30.
18. Houlton (Maine) Regional Hospital ended its inpatient labor and delivery unit on May 2 due to a decline in volume.
19. Corydon, Ind.-based Harrison County Hospital ended its obstetric services on March 31 after evaluating national physician recruitment challenges.
20. Bar Harbor, Maine-based Mount Desert Island Hospital ended its labor and delivery unit on July 1 due to a “dramatic decline in births.”
21. Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health closed its Bloomin’ Babies Birth Center in Grand Junction, Colo., on March 28 due to a declining birth rate and an unsustainable decrease in new patients at the freestanding birth center.
22. UPMC Cole Hospital, a 25-bed facility in Coudersport, Pa., closed its three-bed obstetrics unit on April 7. UPMC is consolidating services at UPMC Wellsboro (Pa.) Hospital.
23. La Junta, Colo.-based Arkansas Valley Regional Medical Center ended its obstetrics services on April 30 due to challenges like low monthly birth rates, underfunding by the Colorado Medicaid program for obstetric services and financial losses.
24. Brewer, Maine-based Northern Light Health closed birthing services at Northern Light Inland Hospital and at Northern Light Women’s Health, both in Waterville, Maine, on March 1.
25. Winner (S.D.) Regional Health closed its labor and delivery services Feb. 1 due to physician recruitment challenges and reimbursement difficulties.
26. Stuart, Fla.-based Cleveland Clinic Martin North Hospital closed its labor and delivery services April 1 and transferred them to Port St. Lucie, Fla.-based Cleveland Clinic Tradition Hospital. The service changes are the result of a comprehensive evaluation to optimize care delivery, address local and national OB-GYN staffing shortages, and focus resources on key areas.
27. ThedaCare Medical Center Waupaca (Wis.) ended labor and delivery services Feb. 15 due to a demand shift among expectant mothers, and a decline in deliveries and mothers looking to deliver at larger birth centers.
28. Belfast-based MaineHealth Waldo Hospital ended its obstetrics and labor and delivery services on April 1.
29. Mayo Clinic Health System in Fairmont, Minn., closed its surgical and labor and delivery units on March 31. The closure was due to a shortage of physicians in the area.
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