Rural hospitals across the United ... She managed to keep the unit open because she feared adding to the maternity health-care deserts in a state that far outpaces the nation in rising rates ...

Katy Kozhimannil, a University of Minnesota health policy professor who studies rural issues, said declining birth numbers and obstetric unit closures can create a vicious cycle. Fewer babies ...

But running a labor and delivery unit is expensive, said Katy Kozhimannil, director of the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center. The facility must be staffed 24 hours a day ...