Filling the gaps in rural maternity care

Brattleboro Memorial Hospital plans to close its labor and delivery unit within the next year. As other rural hospitals scale back on maternity care, what will fill in the gap? Today on Vermont Edition: the cost — and curtailing — of rural maternity care. In the last 5 years, around 140 rural hospitals nationwide have stopped delivering babies, including Copley Hospital, in Lamoille County.We'll hear from a nurse midwife who used to work there. She’s now the co-founder of a new non-hospital birth center in Waterbury. The top OB/GYN at Dartmouth Hitchcock understands the financials behind rural obstetrics. She says we need to completely rethink how maternity care is funded.Broadcast on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, at noon; rebroadcast at 7 p.m.Have questions, comments or tips? Send us a message or check us out on Instagram.