Labor & delivery unit closures most impact travel times to birth locations for micropolitan residents in Iowa

Effects of rurality and distance to care on perinatal outcomes over a 1-year period during the COVID-19 pandemic

PURPOSE

Our aim was to investigate the roles of rurality and distance to care on adverse perinatal outcomes and COVID-19 seroprevalence at the time of delivery over a 1-year period.

METHODS

Data were collected from the electronic medical record on all pregnant patients who delivered at a single, large, Midwest academic medical center over 1 year. Rurality was classified using standard Rural-Urban Commuting Area codes. Geographic Information System tools were used to map outcomes. Data were analyzed with univariate and multivariate models, controlling for Body Mass Index (BMI), insurance status, and parity.

FINDINGS

A total of 2,497 patients delivered during the study period; 20% of patients were rural (n = 499), 18.6% were micropolitan (n = 466), and 61.4% were metropolitan (n = 1,532). 10.4% of patients (n = 259) were COVID-19 seropositive. Rural patients did not experience higher rates of any measured adverse outcomes than metropolitan patients; micropolitan patients had increased odds of preterm labor (OR = 1.41, P = .022) and pre-eclampsia (OR = 1.78, P<.001). Patients living 30+ miles away from the medical center had increased odds of preterm labor (OR = 1.94, P<.001), pre-eclampsia (OR = 1.73, P = .002), and infant admission to the neonatal intensive care unit (OR = 2.12, P<.001), as well as lower gestational age at delivery (β = -9.2 days, P<.001) and birth weight (β = -206 grams, P<.001).

CONCLUSION

Distance to care, rather than rurality, was the key predictor of multiple adverse perinatal outcomes in this cohort of deliveries over a 1-year period. Our study suggests that rurality should not be used as a standalone indicator of access to care without further knowledge of the specific barriers affecting a given population.

Bypassing of nearest labor & delivery unit is contingent on rurality, wealth, and race

Patient decisions to bypass the closest labor & delivery (L&D) facility in favor of other birthing locations can have consequences for the provision of health care in rural and micropolitan areas as patient volumes decline and payer mixes change. Among 220 589 uncomplicated births in Iowa, we document characteristics of birth parents who bypass their closest birthing facility, show how this bypassing behavior results in changed travel times to delivery facilities across the rural/urban divide, and indicate the parts of the state where bypassing behavior is most prevalent. From 2013 to 2019, 55.2% of deliveries occurred in facilities that were further from birthing parents' residences than the closest L&D facility. Bypassing is associated with White, non-Hispanic race/ethnicity, and private insurance status. Although bypassing is least common among micropolitan birth parents, this group has the greatest travel burden to birthing facilities and exhibits increasing rates of bypassing over time. Perinatal quality improvement programs can target locations and populations where low-risk birthing parents can be encouraged to deliver close to home if medically appropriate, particularly in small towns and rural areas. This can potentially alleviate the risk of obstetric deserts by ensuring L&D units maintain patient volumes necessary to continue operations.

Obstetrical Readiness: Preparing Rural Emergency Departments Without Hospital-Based Obstetrical Services

In rural states, hospitals that provide birthing services are closing at an alarming rate, increasing the distance birthing people are traveling, rural Emergency Departments play a vital role in reducing maternal morbidity and mortality. An interdisciplinary education and simulation with debriefing program was created to improve the care by non-obstetric providers for routine and emergent obstetrical care. The program includes monthly lectures, hands on skills training, and in-situ interdisciplinary simulations with debriefings to build a foundation of knowledge and skill for rural Emergency Department staff statewide.

CNM/CMs Fill the Gap in Rural Maternal Care

The United States is in the midst of a maternity care crisis. A key driver is workforce shortages, which impacts maternity care service delivery in rural areas significantly. The midwifery model of care remains underutilized. Midwifery care delivered by certified nurse-midwives and certified midwives is heavily endorsed and supported in the extant literature, but no firm national actions have been taken to move recommendations into funding or practice. Certified nurse-midwives and Certified Midwives are able to care for low-risk pregnancies and are uniquely situated to address factors associated with social determinants of health in rural areas. One of the solutions to the rural maternity care crisis is scaling up the midwifery workforce. Individual, institutional, state, and federal factors are discussed.