Alabama Moms Could Be Soon Delivering On The Side Of The Road

Carrying a baby in general is rough but now some moms will have bigger fish to fry!

According to the State of Babies, there are about 171,061 babies in Alabama alone, which is 3.4% of the population. Times can be tough nowadays, especially with inflation. About 48.2% of households with babies reported income less than twice the poverty line, which means hardships.

Not only do you have to consider finances when having children but you also have to consider health care in order to deliver your baby safely and healthily. Alabama unfortunately has an infant mortality rate that is worse than the national average. Sadly to add to that, 12.99% are born preterm and African Americans have the 2nd highest rate of preterm births.

Now this is the part that moms really need to pay attention to. According to Google News, the state of Alabama will be closing 3 of its maternity wards. The wards closing are in the city of Birmingham, Alabaster, and Monroeville.

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Unfortunately for the soon-to-be mothers in Monroeville, Monroe County Hospital will be closing its maternity center and now the closest place to give birth will be Mobile, Al.

Here via TikTok, you can see a soon-to-be mom of Monroe County discussing the devastation she had when she received the news.

The other maternity wards closing include Princeton Baptist and Shelby Baptist Medical Center. According to March of Dimes, the average travel is 17.4 miles to obstetric care in Alabama which is very far when you’re in the process of giving life. They also gave Alabama a grade of F on their 2022 maternity report card.