Declining birthrates are forcing some hospitals to close their maternity wards, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday, reigniting concerns that some mothers and babies in rural communities can’t access pre-and neo-natal care.

Expanding “maternity care deserts,” described by the nonprofit March of Dimes as counties with no hospital maternity services, birthing centers or qualified caregivers — including obstetricians, gynecologists, and certified midwives — have concerned experts for years.

Between 2018 and 2022, access to obstetricians and hospital maternity services decreased in 83 and 48 counties, respectively, while only 78 counties’ access to obstetricians and nine counties’ access to maternity services increased.

As a result of increased closures, March of Dimes classified 1,119 counties as maternity care deserts in a 2022 report, a 2% increase from 2020 impacting more than 2.2 million women and 147,000 births.

Rural hospitals — including maternity wards — and other healthcare facilities often struggle to remain profitable in unpopulated areas. This means they generally lack equipment and specialized doctors, including cardiologists and anesthesiologists, which, in turn, makes it hard for functioning maternity wards to recruit and pay qualified staff. But as national birthrates continue to decline, maternity wards themselves are closing.

Growing up, our kitchen bulletin board across from the refrigerator was filled with doctor appointment card reminders, ball schedules — and lots of inspirational quotes, mostly courtesy of my mom. She would tack up clippings from the many newspapers and magazines she read.

One of the quotes that sticks out in my mind:

“The grist of God grinds slowly — but it grinds exceedingly fine.”

The expression dates back to the second or third century’s Sextus Empiricus, a Greek philosopher. It seems then, like now, people struggled with patience and wishing things would happen more quickly.

No matter the century, forbearance and long-suffering doesn’t come easily. Empiricus’ perspective came to mind the other day in the aftermath of the disappointing Ohio vote to increase the percentage threshold on state constitutional amendments. As it stands now, a mere majority will be necessary to enshrine abortion “rights” into state law this November.

The battle to protect every preborn life under law has been raging for a half-century. Many of the original pro-life advocates are no longer with us. The fall of Roe was satisfying and necessary, but the work goes on. Instead of one front in the war, there are now fifty.

The hijacking of the definition of marriage, the attack on masculinity and femininity, and the assault on religious freedom these last few years have put Christians on the defensive. Committed advocates have pushed back, and many of the battles rage red hot.

It is certainly a profound irony that more people should appreciate: While marriage rates have declined markedly over the last few decades, research continues to show a strong relationship between self-reported happiness and wearing a spouse’s wedding ring.

Going back to 2000, social science researchers Linda Waite and Maggie Gallagher have an entire chapter their book, The Case for Marriage, detailing how marriage boosts happiness for men and women. “When people married, their mental health improved – consistently and substantially,” they explain.

James Q. Wilson, one of the leading deans of the social sciences, wrote in 2002 that “Married people are happier than unmarried ones of the same age, not only in the United States but in at least seventeen other countries where similar inquiries have been made.”

Wilson notes, “there seem to be good reasons for that happiness,” given the strong health and well-being benefits marriage affords in contrast to being single, cohabitating or divorced.

Now, new research from esteemed scholar Sam Peltzman, professor emeritus of economics at the University of Chicago, demonstrates the happiness premium of marriage not only remains, but is actually getting stronger.

Professor Peltzman explains that “Being married is the most important differentiator with a 30-percentage point happy-unhappy gap over the unmarried” when compared to other socio-economic factors like age, race, sex, educational status, income and geographical location.