March of Dimes report shows Texas among states with highest rate of inadequate prenatal care

A new March of Dimes report on maternal care found that millions of women in the United States have little to no access to maternity care. For some, that can be the difference between life and death.

According to that new report, more than 5.6 million women in the U.S. currently live in counties with limited or no access to maternity care services.

When a county has no birthing facilities or practicing OBGYNs, they're designated by the March of Dimes as a maternity care desert.

Doctors who spoke to ABC News believe the problem is getting worse, and they believe it's a combination of financial constraints for hospitals and lack of women's health providers who are willing to live in more rural areas.

Regardless of why, lack of care equals increased risk of death.

"Women who don't have prenatal care are three to four times more likely to die compared to women who have prenatal care. That's the crisis," said Elizabeth Cherot with March of Dimes.

In the past five years since March of Dimes started releasing its annual report on maternity care, hospitals in the U.S. lost more than 300 birthing units. Since last year's report, 70 counties in the U.S. have had worse access to maternity care.

New Mexico was found to have the highest rate of inadequate prenatal care, followed by Hawaii, Florida and Texas.

Texas, which is home to around 15 million women, was found in the report to have the "highest reproductive health vulnerability of all U.S. states."

Another scary stat? Black women and Native American women who give birth in the U.S. are two to three times as likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women, according to the CDC.

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