U.S. Sen. Katie Britt has reintroduced a bill to improve obstetrics care in rural communities, as part of a bipartisan effort to address a growing crisis.

The Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act would create programs to:

• Help non-specialists respond to emergencies like labor and delivery
• Provide federal grants for rural facilities to buy better equipment to train for and handle these emergencies
• Develop a pilot telehealth program so that a doctor at a rural facility can quickly consult with maternal health care experts

“Alabama women deserve access to high-quality care throughout their pregnancy journeys, no matter their zip code. The Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act would equip rural hospitals with the tools, training, and resources to deliver urgent obstetric care throughout Alabama,” said Britt, Alabama’s junior senator, in a news release.

Over a third of Alabama counties are classified as “maternity care deserts,” according to a 2023 report by March of Dimes. That means women in 23 of Alabama’s 67 counties don’t have access to birthing centers or maternity care providers.

On average, women in Alabama had to travel about 18 miles to the nearest hospital to give birth, the report found.

The state has also lost nearly a quarter of its birthing hospitals in the last few years. In the fall of 2023, three Alabama hospitals announced closures of their labor and delivery departments, leaving both Shelby and Monroe counties without labor and delivery services. Last year, one of the last remaining birthing units in southern Alabama at Grove Hill Memorial Hospital closed.

The lack of access to maternal health care in the state has had devastating impacts for both mothers and their children.

Alabama has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation at 38.6 deaths per 100,000 births. The national average is 22.3 per 100,000. In 2023, Alabama’s infant mortality rate reached the highest it’s been since 2016.

Of the nearly 58,000 babies born last year, 449 did not reach 1 year old, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. That’s a rate of 7.8 deaths for every 1,000 births and a big spike from 2022.

State Health Officer Scott Harris said in response to the infant mortality rate that “a possible reason is limited access to prenatal care and the proximity of hospitals to where these mothers live.”

According to her Senate office, Britt has previously helped secure funding for rural hospitals throughout the state, including $2.6 million for Helen Keller Hospital to replace generators, $3.9 million for the City of Talladega to support rural emergency services, $2 million for medical equipment at Atmore Community Hospital and $2.5 million for the Huntsville Hospital Health System to purchase additional ambulances to serve counties across north Alabama.

Britt is sponsoring the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act alongside Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Tina Smith (D-Minn.). The legislation was first introduced in April 2024 but it did not receive a vote and gained little traction after it was referred to a Senate committee.

Britt said in a statement that the bill is “critical, bipartisan legislation to support moms and families across our nation.”