The Effect of Hospital Maternity Ward Closures on Maternal and Infant Health

In recent years, many hospitals, primarily in rural areas, have eliminated maternity care. The loss of maternity wards could affect births in multiple ways. Increased travel distance following closure could decrease utilization of prenatal care or increase out-of-hospital births. At the same time, closures could expose women to providers with more experience or better practices. I study the impact of maternity ward closures on births in the United States using national Vital Statistics data and a matched difference-in-differences research design. I find evidence that maternity ward closures yielded benefits. I document a large decline in Cesarean births among low-risk women, with null effects on infant health outcomes. My findings suggest that hospitals that closed maternity wards were over-performing Cesarean sections.