Two years after the closure of Leominster’s maternity unit, a region is struggling

 

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Two years after the closure of Leominster’s maternity unit, a region is struggling   September 24, 2025 By Hallie Claflin

Some emergency responders go years, decades, or even their entire careers without ever having to deliver a baby in an ambulance. For John Cuddahy, it took just a few months.

The Leominster-based firefighter EMT completed his academy training in April, and this summer responded to a call in Leominster of a woman in active labor.

“She was in the middle of her contractions, so we loaded her up as quick as we could and started driving out to Worcester,” Cuddahy said.

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But 10 minutes into the 20-mile drive to UMass Memorial Medical Center, the baby was delivered.

In those critical minutes, they could have gotten the expecting mother to UMass Memorial Health Alliance-Clinton Hospital in Leominster, but its maternity unit closed two years ago, ruling that option out.

Luckily there were no serious complications, and both patients were healthy when they finally arrived at the hospital. Cuddahy delivered the baby along with a paramedic of nearly 30 years. It was a first for both responders, but likely not their last.

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“I think it’s something to expect a lot more now that there is no maternity [unit] in Leominster. We almost had another one two shifts ago,” Cuddahy said. “It would save a lot of in-the-field deliveries if they still had it there.”

Reports of women giving birth in cars, ambulances, emergency departments, or reaching a maternity unit just in time to deliver are a far cry from what is expected in a state that consistently ranks first in the country for its health care system.

But in North-Central Massachusetts, pregnant women and families are living a reality that data, statistics, and health care rankings don’t always show.

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More Context Red lights on the way to health care (September 2025)   Hoping to deliver at a Massachusetts birth center? Good luck. (November 2022)  Massachusetts must address our maternal health crisis (July 2024)

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