‘It shouldn’t be this stressful to have a baby’: Women worry as Grand Strand obstetrics units close

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) - Women are worrying about their futures with pregnancy care due to losing four obstetrics units as soon as summer 2024.

Over the past few months, three obstetrics units in the Grand Strand area have stopped delivering babies, and one other will follow suit in 2024.

Britni Mullins is expecting her third child but said it’s been a challenge finding an OB/GYN to deliver her Valentine’s Day baby.

“My first initial appointment with Grand Strand Women’s Care, I met my new doctor. My second appointment in, the front desk person goes ‘Oh you have to find a new doctor, we’re closing’,” Mullins told WMBF News. “That was a little alarming because she was just like, ‘You need to do it soon otherwise there could be a point where you’re too far along in your pregnancy and no office will take you.’”

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The South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation said there are a total of 36 physicians who specialize in OB/GYN across Horry County.

Venus Gynecology in Myrtle Beach closed its doors on Halloween of this year, following Dr. Helena Kirkpatrick’s retirement.

It’s a similar situation with Magnolia OBGYN. Staff told WMBF News one of their obstetricians retired, but it left their other two physicians with too much to carry. Currently, they are not accepting any new obstetrics patients and will completely stop pregnancy care in either June or July of 2024.

Sources at Grand Dunes OBGYN also revealed their obstetrics physician has not been delivering babies for nearly two years, but it’s unclear why.

A spokesperson at Grand Strand Women’s Health said they stopped their delivery practices as of November 22 and are “actively recruiting OB/GYNs” but it’s still unclear as to why it stopped delivering babies.

“I’m grateful in the sense that this is my last, but for women that are still having babies, and getting pregnant, this is, I think, really scary,” Mullins said.

Sources told WMBF News, that there are only three hospitals where woman can have their babies.

One of them is Tidelands Health which said it is the region’s largest obstetrics provider. Staff stated they’re seeing an increase in patients seeking pregnancy care.

“We anticipate Horry County a doubling of the population over the next ten years. So, we have a pretty aggressive women’s and children’s service line and growth strategy,” Tidelands Chief Nursing Officer Ashley Capps said.

Capps added that includes hiring more OBGYNs and expanding their resources through their partnership with MUSC.

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