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The labor and delivery ward at MaineHealth Lincoln Hospital could be closing.
This would be the fifth ward in the state to close within the past year.
On Monday night, MaineHealth held a listening session in Boothbay to share information and hear from patients about labor and delivery services at the hospital.
Hospital leaders provided an overview of an ongoing assessment they have been conducting and discussed the impacts rural hospitals and labor and delivery units are facing.
They said some of the challenges include staffing storages and declining birth rates.
While the hospital told CBS 13 no formal decisions have been made, patients said their doctors have told them otherwise.
“This is an ongoing assessment and part of the process of the assessment is community forums, talking to our team locally, and all our stakeholders,” Lincoln Hospital President Cindy Wade said.
“My doctor said, ‘we have been instructed to tell our patients that unfortunately December will be the latest you are able to deliver here,’” patient Margaret Reynolds said.
“I think it’s scary enough to bring a child into the world now, and this closing just makes it feel that much scarier for me,” another patient said.
One expecting mother said if it closes, the next closest option is almost an hour away.
“Fifty minutes might not seem like a lot, but it could be life or death for mother and child,” expecting mother Leslie Wolf said.
Wade said she’s working with other providers to continue to provide labor and delivery services and that some resources will stay local.
“We will provide prenatal care, which is the care people come to get when they are pregnant. That care will continue to be provided on the Miles Campus at Lincoln Hospital in Damariscotta. We will also continue to provide postnatal care,” Wade said.
A second listening session is scheduled Tuesday night in Damariscotta.
