Rural women have less access to maternity and childbirth services, a trend only made worse by the coronavirus pandemic and one that contributes to higher mother and child mortality rates in rural areas, especially among people of color. Midwives are stepping in to help fill the gap, often with government support, but many are facing the same kind of stress and burnout other health-care professionals have reported, and say they aren't being reimbursed enough, reports Aallyah Wright of Stateline.

The need is great. More than half of rural counties don't have a hospital that delivers babies. That endangers the lives of mothers and infants; rural American women and infants face significantly higher mortality rates than in other wealthy countries. Many pregnant women who don't live near a hospital with obstetrical services have transportation problems that make it difficult to get to one further away that does. And even women who can make the trip are often pressured to give birth by scheduled Caesarian section, which carries health risks, rather than chance going into labor and not being able to make it to the hospital on time.

Other barriers to access have emerged during the pandemic: many pregnant women haven't felt safe going to a hospital or haven't been able to contact their care providers, Wright reports. Those issues, along with pandemic hospital staffing shortages, have prompted many pregnant women to turn to midwives.

Read the full article about the rural childbirth services gap by Heather Chapman at The Rural Blog.