Report Recommends Increasing Midwives To Improve Maternal Healthcare

A new report entitled Mergers In The Mountain State  by the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy (CBP) links hospital acquisitions to the closures of hospital obstetrics units across the state.  

Among the findings: 

• 25% of West Virginia hospitals that joined a hospital network closed their obstetrics unit within five years 

• West Virginia has gone from 35 hospital obstetrics units in 2006 to 16 as of May, 2026 

• Since 2020, obstetrics units in West Virginia have closed at a rate that is triple the national average  

• A lack of access to maternal health care was associated with preterm births between 2021 and 2023 and lower birthweights between 2017 and 2023 

• Roughly 50% of West Virginia counties are considered maternal health care deserts 

• On average, residents in these counties travel 44 minutes to the nearest labor and delivery unit, with the most impacted 20 percent traveling 76 minutes 

“In a profit-driven health care system, profitability really does play a key role in the viability of a service and most OB units across the country are not profitable,” CBP Health Policy Analyst Rhonda Rogombé said. “It’s a very expensive unit to run.” 

The report recommends increasing the maternal healthcare workforce through doulas and certified professional midwives. There are several midwives in West Virginia, Rogombé said, but not enough. 

“They are trained to provide medical services all the way through a pregnancy and beyond, and work alongside hospitals,” she said. “They can travel to these rural communities to provide care in areas where there is none.” 

Other recommendations include reforming payment models for obstetrics care and strengthening federal and state merger review processes, which the report says can help prevent the closures of West Virginia’s remaining labor and delivery units. Click here to access the full report.