Hospital delivery rooms are disappearing across Ohio
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Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Nearly half of Ohio counties lack a hospital with labor and delivery services, per a new March of Dimes report — and that now includes Delaware County, after Grady Memorial Hospital stopped delivering babies this month.
Why it matters: OhioHealth's controversial decision in one of the state's fastest-growing and wealthiest counties illustrates how loss of maternity care isn't just a rural issue.
- Longer distances are associated with delayed emergency care and a higher risk of unplanned out-of-hospital births, per the report.
The big picture: Labor and delivery units are closing amid declining birth rates, workforce shortages and financial pressures. As of May, 52.5% of U.S. counties didn't have one.
- Nationwide, 96 closed across 35 states from Jan. 1, 2024, to May 1, 2026, including at least four in Ohio. Nearly two-thirds were at rural hospitals and over half, like Grady, were the county's only birthing facility.
- The Ohio Hospital Association estimates more than two dozen Ohio hospitals have closed or consolidated maternity care since 2018.
Zoom in: That includes OhioHealth's Shelby and Van Wert hospitals, which stopped offering maternity care in 2023.
- Statements explaining the changes cite declining births at rural and suburban hospitals and care standards "that most community hospitals are not equipped to provide."
By the numbers: Fewer than 10% of Delaware County patients delivered at Grady in the last fiscal year, opting instead to travel to Dublin or Riverside, about 30 minutes away, per the hospital.
Yes, but: Traveling farther isn't easy for everyone.
- Families without reliable transportation or those juggling child care may want options closer to home, Bianca Holder, March of Dimes' maternal and infant health manager in Ohio, tells Axios.
- The latter was true for the last mother to deliver at Grady, Delaware Source reports.
The fine print: Despite losing its only hospital delivery unit, March of Dimes doesn't consider Delaware County a maternity care desert because obstetric clinicians remain.
- 18% of Ohio counties fit that definition in the new report.
The other side: OhioHealth spokesperson Stephanie Stanavich referred Axios to previous statements about Grady and said the hospital system doesn't "plan to participate in additional stories."
- "Our focus is on continuing to ensure a smooth transition for our patients, families and associates," per an email.