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α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
Over the last few decades, health care services in the United States have become more geographically centralized. We study how the loss of hospital-based obstetric units in over 400 counties affects maternal and infant health via a difference-in-differences design. We find that closures lead mothers to experience a significant change in birth procedures such as inductions and C-sections. In contrast to concerns voiced in the public discourse, the effects on a range of maternal and infant health outcomes are negligible or slightly beneficial. While women travel farther to receive care, closures induce women to receive higher quality care.