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Ala. (WSFA) – One in three counties in Alabama is considered a maternal health care desert, according to a new report by the March of Dimes
These deserts are defined as areas with no hospital maternity wards, no birthing centers, and no local obstetricians, gynecologists, or certified nurse-midwives. The lack of nearby care leaves thousands of expectant mothers facing long, potentially dangerous journeys to receive essential medical attention
Latasha Bell, a resident of Lowndes County, experienced this firsthand when she became pregnant two years ago. Classified by the March of Dimes as a maternal health care desert, Lowndes County has no local options for prenatal or postpartum care, forcing Bell to make regular trips to Montgomery
“Doing the prenatal care, we had to travel for appointments. For postpartum care, we had to travel for appointments,” Bell said
The distance became a critical factor when Bell went into labor. She and her husband drove nearly an hour to reach the hospital in Montgomery, only to be told she was not yet in active labor. Doctors gave them the option to return home to wait, but the couple was uneasy about making the 45-minute drive back
“My husband and I, we really weren’t comfortable going home because we did live 45 minutes away,” Bell said
Instead of making the drive, they rented a nearby hotel room to wait. It was a decision that likely prevented a tragedy. Within two hours, Bell went into active labor. After she gave birth, her daughter, Kylen, developed complications that required her to be placed in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)
“If we had not made the decision to go to the nearby hotel and went home, I don’t know if I would have made it back on time to deliver,” Bell said. “And for me, that’s scary, knowing that I could have had a baby at home that had breathing issues after delivering.”
Bell’s story is not unique. Expectant mothers across Alabama are routinely forced to navigate similar hurdles and make difficult choices during their pregnancies, experts say
Honour McDaniel Hill, the director of maternal and infant health initiatives for the March of Dimes in Alabama, warned of the heightened risks associated with these care deserts
“As we see moms further and further away from hospitals and emergency departments that are able to handle obstetric emergencies, we get to this point of like what happens if something were to go wrong either during labor or during the postpartum period where we could have hemorrhaging or preeclampsia or other really serious complications,” Hill said
To combat the growing crisis, the March of Dimes has been actively working to increase maternal healthcare access in remote areas. This year, the organization is launching “Mom and Baby Mobile Health Care Units” to deliver essential prenatal and postpartum care directly to underserved communities across Alabama’s care deserts
More details on Bell’s experience and broader research on maternal health can be found in the March of Dimes 2026 report, titled “Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the U.S.”
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