Obstetric outcomes among rural parturients across US urban and rural hospitals.

Introduction: The objective of this study is to evaluate severe maternal morbidity (SMM) of rural parturients delivering at rural compared to urban hospitals in the US.

Methods: We identified patients aged 18-40 years in a multi-institutional claims database who lived in a rural ZIP code and delivered at a rural or urban hospital between October-December of 2015 and October-December of 2022. The primary outcome was SMM, and the secondary outcome was SMM exclusive of blood transfusions.