When Nikki Johnson heard Mayo Clinic Health System was closing its labor and delivery unit in Fairmont last year, she was shocked. She was 33 weeks pregnant. Instead of giving birth right nearby in town, she was suddenly faced with having to drive to Mayo’s Mankato clinic about an hour away when she went into labor.

“I asked the doctor, so what happens if I go into labor and it goes pretty fast and I have to pull over on the side of the road on the way to Mankato?” Johnson recalled. “ I was like, that would be terrifying. Giving birth is scary to begin with.”

Johnson’s experience isn’t unique. Labor and delivery units have been closing across the state and the nation in recent years. This week, Mayo Clinic Health System announced it would no longer cover labor and delivery services at Ow

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