Hospital births in Canada : Naissances à l'hôpital au Canada : un regard sur les femmes vivant dans les régions rurales et éloignées

Although the size of the rural population has declined, the birth rate among rural women is high relative to that of their urban counterparts.7 Many rural women do not have ready access to maternity providers and services in the wake of rural hospital closures and the regionalization of maternity services.8–11 Health planners in each of Canada’s provinces and territories must grapple with issues a [...] The proportion of the population living in rural areas was highest in the Atlantic provinces and in the territories. [...] The percentage of deliveries for rural women living in the most- deprived neighbourhoods ranged from 29.1% in Yukon to 49.7% in the Northwest Territories and 83.8% in Nunavut. [...] In some rural areas, higher rates of induction have been attributed to the desire or the need to plan the date and location of birth for mothers in remote areas.44 A study of induction rates for women living in rural B. C. found induction to be 1.3 times more likely for those needing to travel outside of their hospital’s local health area.45 Women who have travelled from rural and remote areas to [...] Among deliveries for rural women, the share of C-sections 26 Hospital Births in Canada: A Focus on Women Living in Rural and Remote Areas attended by an FP or a general surgeon ranged from 52.1% in Nunavut to 39.0% in the Northwest Territories to 0% in Yukon.