CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Parts of Ohio are now being called “maternal health care deserts.”
A recent report found there’s not enough health care for new and pregnant moms. Midwives are doing something about it.
New mom Samantha Carpenter just had her first baby. She said he was their surprise baby and came weeks early.
“I just wanted to take a walk in the park, and then my water broke. Then at 2:57 in the morning, he said, ‘Hey, mom,’” said Carpenter.
As baby Jasper was making his way into the world, she said they had to go out of town to get health care.
“I live about an hour away. I live in Hillsboro, but they just shut down labor and delivery in Hillsboro, so I wouldn’t have even been able to do it there if I wanted to,” said Carpenter.
She’s not alone. Pregnant and new moms are in areas across Ohio that are considered maternal health care deserts, places with no hospital or birth center for maternity care.
In fact, the most recent report from infant and maternal health nonprofit March of Dimes shows about 15% of Ohio’s counties are maternal health care deserts.
“There are a lot of negative things that can happen when we don’t get good prenatal care. They can have much higher complications not only for the baby but for the mom,” said Certified Nurse Midwife Natasha McCoy.
McCoy is a midwife at Adena Hospital in Chillicothe, and she said they’re trying to fill that gap.
“We go out and we provide, well, woman care and contraception as well as the pregnancy care and postpartum care for the moms at a location close to them. The only reason they have to come here to the main campus is, of course, when they go to have their baby,” said McCoy.
She said they’ve just added a couple more midwives and expanded hours to keep up with the need. She says the next rural area they’ll be going to is in Hillsboro near Carpenter. It’s a plan she said makes it all worth it.
