One in six North Carolina counties lacks local obstetric care, forcing families to travel long distances for deliveries and other appointments, according to a report cited by North Carolina Health News. An August report from the March of Dimes identifies 18 of the state’s 100 counties as maternity care deserts, meaning they have no birth centers, hospitals with labor and delivery services, or practicing OB-GYNs, certified nurse-midwives, or family physicians who deliver babies.
Maternity Care Deserts Leave Thousands Without Local Access
The absence of local maternity services affects about 61,000 women between the ages of 15 and 44 across the 18 designated deserts in North Carolina, impacting roughly 4,000 births each year. An additional 12 counties have only a single obstetric clinician. Tens of thousands more residents live in areas with severely restricted access to care.
The distance to reach a qualified provider creates severe logistical hurdles for rural patients. These travel burdens correlate with higher rates of preterm births, cesarean deliveries, and other maternal complications. Pat Campbell, director of the March of Dimes maternal and infant health initiative in North Carolina, noted that resolving these service gaps requires expanding the maternity care workforce. Overall maternity care access in the state declined slightly between 2016 and 2024, although nine individual counties saw improvements.
Shared Care Initiative Trains Rural Family Physicians
To bring prenatal and postpartum care directly to rural communities, a new initiative aims to train and support local family physicians. The Perinatal Access to Care and Health in North Carolina (PATCH-NC) program relies on a shared care model to bridge the gap in 10 rural counties classified as maternity care deserts or low-access regions.
Ideally, a single clinical team handles prenatal care, delivery, and postpartum support. When local facilities cannot offer all three services, the shared care model replicates that continuity. Pregnant patients visit a local clinician, frequently a family physician, for routine prenatal and postpartum checkups, while a partner provider at a distant hospital handles the delivery.
The three-year program operates with $2.8 million in funding from the Charlotte-based Leon Levine Foundation. The grant helps rural family physicians at community health centers establish consistent prenatal and postpartum services. Shannon Dowler, a family physician leading the PATCH-NC initiative, stated that bringing care closer to home helps women establish early and frequent prenatal visits while maintaining hospital partnerships for safe deliveries.
Common Questions About Rural Maternity Access
How many counties in North Carolina are classified as maternity care deserts?
The March of Dimes classifies 18 of North Carolina’s 100 counties as maternity care deserts because they lack hospitals offering labor and delivery services, birth centers, and practicing maternity care clinicians.
What is the shared care model used by PATCH-NC?
The shared care model allows local clinicians, such as rural family physicians, to provide routine prenatal and postpartum checkups close to home, while a designated partner provider at a hospital farther away handles the actual delivery.
How is the PATCH-NC initiative funded?
The three-year initiative is supported by a $2.8 million grant from the Charlotte-based Leon Levine Foundation, designed to help community health centers establish consistent pregnancy and postpartum care.
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