Travel Times to Hospital-Based Obstetric Care Increased From 2010 to 2021

TUESDAY, April 7, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- The proportion of reproductive-aged females who could access obstetric care within 30 minutes declined between 2010 and 2021, according to a study published online Feb. 13 in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.Brittany L. Ranchoff, Ph.D., from Harvard Medical School in Boston, and colleagues examined changes in travel time to hospital-based obstetric services by obstetric service availability between 2010 and 2021, overall and by rurality. The analysis included 2010-2021 American Hospital Association Annual Survey and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Provider of Services files, while travel time was calculated using network analysis in ArcGIS from the centroid of each census tract to the nearest hospital-based obstetric services. The researchers found that the proportion of tract-level reproductive-aged females who resided within 30 minutes of obstetric services decreased during the study period, with tracts in counties that lost all obstetric services declining 36.0 percent (from 93.3 percent in 2010 to 59.7 percent in 2021). There was considerable variability in the decline by rurality (metropolitan: −21.6 percent; nonmetropolitan-adjacent: −53.7 percent; and nonmetropolitan-nonadjacent: −53.0 percent). For tracts in counties with continual obstetric services, travel time remained stable. However, travel time increased for reproductive-aged females living in counties that lost all obstetric services, with a greater proportion having to travel 30 to 59 or ≥60 minutes to the nearest obstetric unit."In some rural areas, access dropped by more than 50 percent," Ranchoff said in a statement. "These communities already face many health care challenges and longer travel times can add stress and increase risk during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum."Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required) .Sign up for our weekly HealthDay newsletter

Travel Times to Hospital-Based Obstetric Care Increased From 2010 to 2021

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