Millions of US women don’t have access to maternity care, report warns

More than 2.3 million women of reproductive age don't have access to birthing facilities or obstetric doctors, report says

More than a third of US counties do not have a single medical birthing facility or the services of an obstetric clinician, causing health advocates to warn about the dangers of maternity care deserts", a new report says.

The report, issued by March of Dimes, an infant health non-profit, and published on Tuesday, found that 35.1% of US counties are what the group calls maternity care deserts, meaning there are no specialist medical services available to provide care.