{
  "id": 2967150,
  "title": "Last maternity ward in Miryang closes, forcing pregnant women to travel elsewhere to give birth",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/last-maternity-ward-in-miryang-closes-forcing-pregnant-women-to-2967150",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-24T07:12:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/society/20260824/last-maternity-ward-in-miryang-closes-forcing-pregnant-women-to-travel-elsewhere-to-give-birth"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "The last maternity ward in Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province, is set to close next month after 40 years of service, prompting pregnant women to seek medical care elsewhere. Miryang Jeil Hospital, which opened in 1986, has been a vital institution in the region, handling over 20,000 deliveries since its inception. However, dwindling medical staff and the province's declining population have led to the hospital's imminent closure. With just two doctors left to run the delivery unit, the hospital's director has decided that continuing operations is no longer feasible. The closure of this last maternity ward is likely to exacerbate the decline of provincial areas in South Korea, as pregnant women will now need to travel to other regions for childbirth.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Last maternity ward in Miryang closes, forcing pregnant women to travel elsewhere to give birth",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/24/last-maternity-ward-in-miryang-closes-forcing-pregnant-women-to",
        "published": "2026-08-24T07:07:02.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}