35% of US Counties Lack Maternity Care, Pregnant Woman Dies, Pro-Life Activist Gives Bad Medical Advice

In addition to the over 800 maternal deaths that occur each year, the infant mortality rate increased significantly in 2022 for the first time in two decades. With adequate access to timely and appropriate care, many of these deaths are preventable.

The nearest local hospital, Parkview DeKalb, about five minutes away. But the hospital had closed its labor and delivery unit a few weeks before and had no physician who could care for her. The emergency room staff transferred Taysha to Parkview Regional Medical Center, the network’s flagship hospital, where she died Oct. 12, two days later. Her death certificate listed her cause of death as a ruptured ectopic pregnancy and its complications, which happens when a fertilized egg grows outside of the uterus. This condition can turn deadly if not detected in time…

Taysha’s death did not surprise nurses and community members who had been fighting against the closure of the rural hospital’s labor and delivery unit, warning that families who can’t travel to Fort Wayne for pregnancy care would suffer. Her story highlights the danger pregnant women face in the rapidly-growing obstetric deserts in Indiana as hospital networks cease to provide inpatient maternity services in low-income and rural communities.