A big, fake pregnant belly is the center of attention for a group of nurse-midwifery students at University of Colorado Anschutz.
Standing behind the hollow stomach, an instructor pushed a fake baby out the birth canal, mimicking childbirth. Earlier this month, the students took turns coaching the plastic torso on how to push, applying abdominal pressure and catching the very slimy, very fake baby that came out the other side.
Next door is a mock hospital room. Students practiced labor and delivery skills on a full-sized mannequin that birthed fake infants while an instructor sat in a command center, calling out vital signs and observing as students learned how to deliver babies.
These patients might be fake, but the skills these students are studying are in the name of a real, and growing, issue.
More than half of America’s rural hospitals do not offer labor and delivery services, according to data from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.
It’s a problem that is only getting worse. Rural hospitals are struggling financially, and abortion bans in some states are pushing providers out of state.
Abortion is legal in Colorado, but still, 52 percent of the state’s 42 rural hospitals lack labor and delivery services. The median drive time to a hospital that does offer that kind of care is 46 minutes.
With those maternity deserts can come higher infant mortality rates and more premature births for families in rural areas.
