Maternal Healthcare ‘Deserts’ Leave Thousands of Texas Women to Their Own Devices

Maternal healthcare ‘deserts’ leave thousands of Texas women to their own devices

Cash-strapped rural hospitals in East Texas and beyond are closing their labor-and-delivery units.

‘A Disservice To All Of Us’: Women Speak Out About Maternal Healthcare ‘Deserts’ That Put Them and Their Babies at Risk

This is the second story in a two-part series by Public Health Watch examining maternal health deserts in East Texas. The first part found that women in the region face among the worst access to care in the state. HEMPHILL, Texas — They remember the white-knuckle drives along backroads at night to get to hospitals that could treat them, of gushing blood from undiagnosed, potentially fatal complications. Pregnant and living in rural East Texas, t…