KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — About 37% of counties in Tennessee have little to no access to maternity care, according to a new report from March of Dimes.
They're called maternity care deserts which means the county has no access to maternity care, no hospital that offers obstetric services, no OBGYN, no certified nurse-midwife or no birthing center.
It looked at deserts across the country. Seven counties here in East Tennessee fall into that category: Union, Cocke, Hancock, Grainger, Monroe, Roane and Morgan counties.
Maternity care deserts are a harsh reality for women and the problem isn't getting better, according to March of Dimes President and CEO Stacey Stewart.
"We know the rural areas are where we have most problems, although there are urban areas," she said. "One of the things we're doing is leaving women to fend for themselves and figure it out on their own."
The report shows two-thirds of those deserts are in rural counties leaving women with no access to maternity care and making them heavily rely on transportation to get to a nearby hospital.
"It could be a double whammy. You not only have access problems but may not also have insurance," said Stewart. "Knox County is considered a full access county but if you look at Grainger County or Union, or others around Knox those are considered maternity care deserts."
Danielle Anthony, the owner of East Tennessee Doulas, has seen the problem first hand. "There's not a lot of help in a lot of those areas. They're kind of left to figure it out on their own," she said.
Anthony has traveled hours to help women before and after pregnancy because there are no services like hers in the area.
"It can be so isolating, you can feel so lost and so confused," she said. "To know there's support makes all the difference."
March of Dimes is calling for expanded access to affordable care to fight the maternal health crisis.
"It's a matter of our will. Are we willing to do the things needed to protect the lives of women of new mothers and babies?" said Stewart.