Georgia lacks maternity care outside Atlanta, March of Dimes study shows
Report outlines maternal care deserts in Georgia
A new report by the March of Dimes shows there are many counties in Georgia considered to be a maternal care desert. Which means there’s not a single birth center in that county and pregnant women in those counties face more barriers to getting the prenatal care they need.
ATLANTA - A new report by the March of Dimes shows more than 40% of Georgia’s counties are maternal care deserts, which means there’s not a single birth center in that county.
Dr. Padmashree "Champa" Woodham is a maternal fetal medicine specialist in Augusta.
She says there are very few experts, such as her south of Atlanta.
"I have patients that are traveling three or four hours to see me," Dr. Woodham said.
She says it shows just how lacking Georgia is in maternal specialists and care.
"But a maternal fetal medicine specialist like myself…south of Atlanta, for example, there are no more than maybe 10 to 15 Maternal Fetal Medicine providers in the rest of the state. So, the fact that all of the women outside Atlanta only have access to those few providers is really terrifying," Dr. Woodham said.
The March of Dimes just published their most recent maternal care deserts report, which seems to confirm what Dr. Woodham is saying.
They publish the report every two years.
"To define a maternity care desert, that means there are no obstetric providers and no obstetric hospitals or birth centers in a particular county," said Tamara Currin, Director of State Government Affairs with the March of Dimes.
She says pregnant women living in those deserts are having to drive much further for care, which sometimes delays when they start receiving it.
"The trend has gotten worse. We see that from our 2022 report to our 2024 report. There's been about 2% more hospital closures," Currin said.
In the report’s map, all the counties in pink are considered maternal care deserts, while the ones in orange are considered to have low access to maternal care.
The report finds that 70% of birthing centers in the U.S. are concentrated in just ten states.
"And that's staggering. And we are not in one of them. Georgia is not one of those," Dr. Woodham said.
This situation, according to Dr. Woodham, puts more pregnant women at risk.
"If we don't stay ahead of this, we're going to see the preterm birth rate increase more," she said.
Dr. Woodham says another big part of the problem is the state just doesn’t have enough maternal care providers.
This is why she advocated for state funding of a new maternal-fetal medicine fellowship program to train more providers to work in the state.
She says it’s a good example of the state taking action to address the problem, but she says the state needs many more programs like it.
FOX 5 reached out to state health departments that represent some of the maternal care deserts closer to Atlanta to see how they’re addressing the problem, such as the Northwest Georgia Health district which represents Paulding, Polk and Haralson counties, but haven’t heard back from yet.
The Northeast Health District, which represents Barrow and Walton Counties, say they couldn’t provide any information on addressing maternal care deserts in time for our deadlines on Thursday evening.
The District 4 Health District, which represents Butts, Lamar and Pike Counties sent this statement:
"The Georgia Department of Public Health’s Perinatal Health Partnership program is expanding its reach of home visiting services it offers to expectant mothers from pregnancy until the full first year of their baby’s life. The home-visit program was first introduced in the Gainesville and Waycross areas, and the program is expected to be rolled out in counties in District 4 Public Health’s area next month.
"The Perinatal Health program focuses on assisting pregnant women with high-risk conditions or risk factors that increase the likelihood of poor pregnancy outcomes. Although enrollment can occur after delivery, early intervention is preferred. Perinatal Health Partnership services include additional monitoring to detect potential warning signs, complications, and problems between provider appointments. Early detection increases the likelihood of prompt intervention and referral to healthcare providers for further assessment and treatment."