In total, according to CalMatters’ analysis of state records, 56 hospitals have stopped delivering babies since 2012 — that’s 16% of all general acute care hospitals in the state.

The trend has drawn attention from lawmakers and health advocates who have asked Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign legislation intended to help the state intervene when a hospital is struggling to keep labor and delivery open. They also want to force hospitals to be more transparent about their finances, staffing levels and how closures would impact communities.

Hospital administrators blame service cuts on high costs, labor shortages and declining birth rates. But in some instances, CalMatters found highly profitable hospitals closing maternity wards that delivered more than 700 babies annually, a number that research suggests is well above the threshold for safety and financial viability