MUSCATINE, Iowa Bailee Tordai, who was 33 weeks into her pregnancy, barely made it to the prenatal checkup. Her clunky old Jeep couldn’t complete the 2-mile trip from her house to the University of Iowa’s outreach clinic in her southeastern Iowa hometown. It was a hot June day, and a wiring problem made the
Pregnant women face a major problem in Iowa, with 41 hospitals closing their birthing units in the state since 2000. The University of Iowa is trying to fill the gap, sending 11 certified nurse midwives to the towns of Muscatine and Washington.
Dozens of Iowa hospitals have closed their birthing units. A team of University of Iowa nurse midwives can’t reopen them, but they’ve found a way to provide prenatal checkups and other crucial services.