People who are pregnant in rural areas generally have a harder time reaching a doctor. Dr. Anne Banfield saw this firsthand when she worked as an OB-GYN in rural West Virginia.

“We have a lot of mothers in our country who are suffering, because potentially in many cases, there are breakdowns in the prenatal care system,” Banfield said.

About half of all counties in the U.S. lacked a dedicated OB-GYN in 2019, according to data from the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration analyzed by Louisville Public Media.

Since the Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade in June, states have begun implementing their own laws surrounding abortion and reproducive rights. There’s concern among physicians and public health experts that pending abortion bans in places already lacking maternal health resources could lead to worse outcomes.