According to the March of Dimes’ 2026 report, “Nowhere to Go,” 5.8 million women and 358,000 infants live in counties without full access to maternity care. The report, independently developed by the March of Dimes and nationally sponsored by Ob Hospitalist Group (OBHG), also documents at least 96 hospital labor and delivery unit closures across 35 states between 2024 and early 2026.
OBHG, the nation’s largest dedicated OB/GYN hospitalist group, is working on the problem. When Medscape examined how OB hospitalists are closing the gap, it spoke with two of our physicians: Dr. Wesley Davis, our vice president of clinical operations, and Dr. Christina Adams, an OBHG hospitalist at Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, Florida.
Why the gap keeps widening
Workforce shortages are projected in all but six states within a decade, according to a study published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, with rural areas hit hardest. Rural hospitals see fewer obstetric patients, more of them covered by Medicaid, and labor and delivery units are often the first service cut when budgets tighten.
And it doesn’t take long for patients to feel the pinch, said Dr. Adams.
“You’re talking about people delivering on the side of the road or going to a rural hospital without an obstetrician and delivering there,” she said.
Where OB hospitalists fit
OB hospitalists keep a clinician in the hospital around the clock, so patients get an obstetric evaluation, not just nurse triage. In rural communities, that can mean serving as the primary obstetric team. Elsewhere, it means backing up community clinicians so they can keep their offices full.
Coverage also shows up in outcomes. A Mayo Clinic-led study cited by Medscape found that among hospitals with around-the-clock OB coverage, those staffed with OB hospitalists had lower rates of severe maternal morbidity.
“What most moms want is to know that there’s a provider ready in the hospital to respond to their needs at that moment no matter what those needs are,” said Dr. Davis.
What the work looks like
“When you’re on, you’re on,” said the Medscape article. And the reverse is also true.
The typical OB hospitalist works five to seven 24-hour shifts a month. When the shift ends, there is no office to return to and no call to wait on.
Many clinicians find this model more sustainable than the traditional model, Dr. Davis told Medscape.
“There used to be no such thing as work/life balance for an OB,” he said, “because you used to be either in the office taking care of patients, at the hospital delivering babies, or on-call waiting to be called back to the hospital.”
A national platform for clinicians who want to lead
OBHG partners with more than 300 hospitals in 42 states and employs more than 2,000 physicians and certified nurse-midwives. Our 2025 Maternal Health Impact Report documented 36,278 prenatal visits for patients in maternity care deserts and more than 3,000 deliveries in high-need communities between August 2024 and July 2025.
Through Maternal Health Access Solutions and Obtelecare, our telehealth maternal-fetal medicine platform, OBHG clinicians extend that reach to rural and underserved communities. Our work is also shaping the national conversation, from the March of Dimes partnership to the coverage in Medscape.
If you want a schedule that leaves room for your life and a role in the work that matters most in maternal health, explore current opportunities at www.obhg.com.