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As hospitals and maternity wards close, here’s one way California can prevent stillbirths

• November 15, 2023

Allie Felker in the nursery of her 2 year-old daughter, Octavia, her first living child, at her home in Livermore on Nov. 13th, 2023. Photo by Laure Andrillon for CalMatters

Commentary

Expectant parents are losing access to prenatal care or driving long distances with so many California hospitals closing maternity wards to cut costs. A mother whose first child was stillborn shares her story and an important practice that public agencies should raise awareness about.

By Allie Felker • November 15, 2023

Outlines of the Madera Community Hospital sign being covered by a tarp at the Emergency Room entrance of the hospital on Jan. 2, 2023. Madera County Sheriff Tyson Pogue announced a state of emergency for the county when the hospital shut its doors due to bankruptcy. Photo by Larry Valenzuela, CalMatters/CatchLight Local

CalMatters en Español

Más de 40 hospitales en California cerraron sus salas de maternidad en una década. ¿Es el tuyo uno de ellos?

Read this story in English. Pocas regiones de California han escapado al impacto del cierre de las salas de maternidad en la última década. Al menos 46 hospitales han cerrado o suspendido permanentemente el trabajo de parto y servicios de maternidad desde 2012, según un análisis de CalMatters de los registros hospitalarios. Alrededor del 60% […]

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A medida que más hospitales cierran sus salas de parto, grandes zonas de California se quedan sin atención de maternidad

• November 15, 2023

CalMatters en Español

De 2012 a 2019, al menos 19 hospitales de California dejaron de ofrecer servicios de maternidad y parto. Seis de esos hospitales cerraron por completo. En una tendencia cada vez mayor, dieciséis más cerraron sus salas de maternidad entre 2020 y 2022. En lo que va de 2023, 11 más han anunciado el cierre de […]

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The Pride flag is gone. Library books are under review. It’s a new era of backlash politics in California

• November 15, 2023

Tony Strickland, Mayor of Huntington Beach, right, speaks at a Veteran's Day ceremony in Huntington Beach on Nov. 11, 2023. Photo by Lauren Justice for CalMatters

Politics

Lacking power at the state level, conservatives are leaning into local governance to protest California’s progressive politics. The fight in Huntington Beach could be a harbinger of what’s to come.

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Alexei Koseff

• November 15, 2023

Health

More than 40 California hospitals closed maternity wards in a decade. Is yours one of them?

Hospitals all over California are closing their maternity wards, including in dense cities like Los Angeles and in more remote communities in the Sierra Nevada.

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