A Birth Story Far from Home – By Anonymous

My pregnancy was high-risk, and the nearest Level 3 NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) able to care for babies born before 32 weeks was 68 miles away in Missouri; the closest in Illinois was 124 miles.

At the hospital they insisted my child was a Missouri resident because she had never been to Illinois, which was unsettling to me.

There were no local referral pathways to identify high-risk pregnancies early or connect me with specialized providers. The providers I did find weren’t linked to hospitals equipped for major complications, so I had to choose out-of-state care. When I went into early labor, I was lucky to already be where I needed to be during my postpartum hemorrhage. My daughter reached the NICU within minutes—not hours—and is now a thriving 2-year-old because she received timely support.

Her Missouri care was excellent, including therapy referrals through the NICU outpatient unit, but accessing services from so far away has been financially, emotionally, and logistically draining. We’ve struggled to find Illinois resources, and we don’t qualify for most income-based programs. Middle-class families shouldn’t have to navigate cross-state healthcare for essentials like pediatric orthotics and developmental therapies.

Illinois should identify areas with high maternal-risk outcomes and inadequate hospital capacity and expand facilities, so no family is more than 60–90 miles from appropriate care. Families shouldn’t have to leave their state—or feel like outsiders—to get the care their children need.