Maternal Care

At a time when hospitals across the state are closing maternity wards, southeast Ohio is getting a new one. Memorial Health System broke ground Tuesday on the region’s first women and children’s hospital.

Ohio has one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the county. Ohio legislators are joining a federal push to invest in solutions.

Ohio Medicaid plans to compensate doulas starting this fall. But some doulas are questioning the rules that will govern them.

At a time when many rural hospitals continue to make the tough choice to shutter their obstetrics units and stop delivering babies, some have found ways to make their units survive and, sometimes, even thrive.

A report from the nonprofit March of Dimes finds that 36% of counties in the U.S. are "maternity care deserts," meaning they have no obstetric hospitals or birth centers and no obstetric providers.

Kent State researchers and specialists will work with expectant mothers in the Cleveland and Akron areas who have PTSD or chronic stress. The program is also a research study that may inform policy decisions.

A new certification program uses data to help Black parents-to-be find a birthing center that meets their needs and considers their concerns and experiences.