Roughly half of Maine’s 36 hospitals do not offer birthing services. When this series started publishing in February 2025, nine hospitals in Maine had closed or announced plans to close their birthing units in the past decade. Less than two months later, two more hospitals announced plans to close their birthing units. The closures span the state but have hit rural areas particularly hard.
On average, rural Mainers whose closest hospital doesn’t have a birthing unit are now driving 45 minutes one-way to the nearest birthing hospital, according to a recent analysis by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, the longest drive time in New England. Rural residents carrying high-risk pregnancies may be forced to go even farther — to Bangor, Portland or in rare cases Boston — for a specialist’s care.
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Nine Maine hospitals have closed or announced plans to close their birthing units in the past decade. The closures have hit rural areas particularly hard.