Few regions in California have escaped the impact of maternity ward closures in the past decade. At least 46 hospitals have permanently closed or suspended labor and delivery since 2012, a CalMatters analysis of hospital records found. About 60% of the closures have taken place in just the last three years.
These closures are being driven by a combination of factors, including high costs, inflation, labor shortages and declining birth rates, according to hospital administrators and experts.
In some cases, communities are losing decades-old maternity units. Four counties lost their last maternity ward in the past 10 years, with three of those closing since 2022. In others, the maternity ward was short-lived. For example, Palmdale Regional Medical Center in the high desert of Los Angeles County opened a birth center in 2021 before closing it last month, citing “lower than anticipated” births.
Hospitals are closing maternity wards in urban and rural communities. By far, Los Angeles County recorded the most closures. It accounts for 15 of the hospitals that shut maternity wards.
Here are the hospitals that closed or indefinitely suspended labor and delivery since 2012.
SoCal outside L.A.
Imperial County
El Centro Regional Medical Center
Closed 2023
Orange County
Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center
Closed 2021
La Palma Intercommunity Hospital
Closed 2019
Los Alamitos Medical Center
Closed 2020
Riverside County
Palo Verde Hospital (Blythe)
Closed 2023
San Diego County
Fallbrook Hospital
Closed 2014
Hospital closed
Palomar Medical Center Poway (Poway)
Closed 2023
Paradise Valley Hospital (National City)
Closed 2021
Tri-City Medical Center (Oceanside)
Closed 2023
Ventura County
St. John’s Hospital Camarillo
Closed 2012
Sierra Nevada
Mono County
Mammoth Hospital (Mammoth Lakes)Closed 2023
Plumas County
Plumas District Hospital (Quincy)
Closed 2022
Shasta Countywide
Mayers Memorial Hospital (Fall River Mills)
Closed 2016
Los Angeles
Los Angeles County
Bellflower Medical Center
Closed 2013
Hospital closed
Beverly Hospital (Montebello)
Closed indefinitely 2023
Centinela Hospital Medical Center (Inglewood)
Closed 2023
College Medical Center (Long Beach)
Closed 2017
Emanate Health Foothill Presbyterian Hospital (Glendora)
Closed 2019
Glendora Hospital
Closed 2015
Hospital converted into an inpatient behavioral health facility
Greater El Monte Community Hospital
Closed 2020
Los Angeles Community Hospital
Closed 2018
Memorial Hospital of Gardena
Closed 2020
Pacific Alliance Medical Center (Los Angeles)
Closed 2017
Hospital closed
Pacifica Hospital of the Valley (Sun Valley)
Closed 2019
Palmdale Regional Medical Center
Closed 2023
PIH Health-Downey
Closed 2021
Providence Little Company of Mary – San Pedro
Closed 2021
West Hills Hospital
Closed 2020
San Joaquin Valley
Fresno County
Adventist Health Selma
Closed 2014
Madera County
Madera Community Hospital
Closed 2023
Hospital closed
San Joaquin County
Dameron Hospital (Stockton)
Closed 2016
Doctors Hospital of Manteca
Closed 2023
Stanislaus County
Oak Valley Hospital District (Oakdale)
Closed 2013
Central Coast
Monterey County
George L. Mee Memorial Hospital (King City)
Closed indefinitely 2020
Bay Area
Alameda County
Kaiser Permanente Hayward
Closed 2014
Hospital closed
Napa County
Adventist Health St. Helena Closed 2020
San Francisco County
California Pacific Medical Center – Mission Bernal Campus (San Francisco)
Closed indefinitely 2021
San Mateo County
AHMC Seton Medical Center (Daly City)
Closed 2015
Santa Clara County
Regional Medical Center of San Jose
Closed 2020
Sonoma County
Petaluma Valley Hospital Closed indefinitely 2023
Sonoma Valley Hospital
Closed 2018
Solano County
Sutter Solano Medical Center (Vallejo)
Closed 2021
Sacramento Valley
Butte County
Adventist Health Feather River (Paradise)
Closed 2018
Hospital closed
Colusa County
Colusa Medical Center
Closed 2016
Hospital closed
North Coast
Humboldt County
Providence Redwood Memorial Hospital (Fortuna)
Closed 2021
Mendocino County
Adventist Health Mendocino Coast (Fort Bragg)
Closed 2020
