Tennessee plagued by maternity-care deserts
Certified nurse midwife Kate Fouquier checks on a patient who is 22 weeks pregnant at a Regional One Health primary care facility in Memphis. Fouquier has practiced midwifery for more than 25 years. (Patrick Lantrip/Daily Memphian)
More than a third of Tennessee counties are maternity-care deserts, meaning there are no hospitals providing obstetric care, no birth centers, no OB-GYNs and no certified nurse midwives, putting pregnant women in a possibly risky situation.
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Maternity UTHSC College of Nursing Sarah Rhoads Kate Fouquier Planned Parenthood Subscriber OnlyThank you for supporting local journalism.
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Aisling Mäki
Aisling Mäki has been writing about Memphis since she moved to the city more than 20 years ago. She’s worked for print, digital and broadcast news outlets, including Memphis Daily News and Action News 5 (WMC), as well as public relations agencies. Her work has earned awards from The Associated Press, Tennessee Press Association, Society of Professional Journalists and Public Relations Society of America.
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