Pregnant women in Cape May County will soon have to travel even further for maternity care.
On Sept. 15, Cape Regional Medical Center in Cape May will end its obstetric services, Susan Stager, a spokeswoman for the hospital, said in an email.
“This development is very disappointing for everyone at Cape Regional Health System,” Staeger said.
Cape Regional is the only hospital in the county.
The facility only had two obstetricians. One leaves for another job at Shore Medical Center in Somers Point, located about 20 miles away, Staeger said.
Cape Regional is working with Shore Medical Center — the closest facility — and Atlanticare “to develop transfer agreements to rapidly transition obstetric patients who are in Cape Regional Medical Center’s emergency department,” she said.
Atlanticare Regional Medical Center-Mainland Campus is located approximately 30 miles from Cape Regional.
Recruiting an OB-GYN is difficult, Stager said. She cited three reasons: few babies born at the facility (only 259 in 2021), lack of a labor program and doctors who must be on call at all times.
These are “all reasons why applicants chose other options,” she said.
Still, the OB-GYN shortage is not just a problem in Cape May County.
Staeger cited a 2019 American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists report that projected “a shortage of up to 8,800 obstetrician-gynecologists (OB-GYNs) by 2020 and a shortage of up to 22,000 by 2050.” The report added that “ ACOG estimated in 2017 that half of US counties do not have a single obstetrician.”
Staeger said prenatal care for “pregnant mothers continues to be available in Cape May County through CompleteCare and OB/GYN practices affiliated with Shore Medical Center and Atlanticare.”
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Spencer Kent can be found at skent@njadvancemedia.com.
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