A chloropleth map of Alabama showing the access to maternity care by county.
A maternity care desert is any county in the United States without a hospital or birth center offering obstetric care and without any obstetric providers. Low access to maternal care is defined as counties with one or fewer hospitals or birth centers that provide obstetric care, few obstetric providers (fewer than 60 per 10,000 births) or a high proportion of women without health insurance (10 percent or more).