Overview
- Two Frankfurt‑area hospitals are exiting obstetrics, with Ketteler Krankenhaus ending births in June 2026 and Hospital zum Heiligen Geist closing its unit in August 2026.
- Frankfurt recorded 11,310 births in 2025, up from 11,145 a year earlier, even as local delivery wards continue to shut.
- Hospitals cite low case volumes, staff shortages and the high cost of round‑the‑clock teams of doctors, midwives, anesthetists and nurses.
- Ketteler reported only 484 births in 2025 and losses of more than €1 million, and its restructuring chief said at least 800 births a year were needed to break even.
- Services are concentrating in four large Frankfurt hospitals, three rated top‑tier perinatal centers, under a reform that favors fewer specialized sites and fuels concern over access in Hesse districts that now lack any birth clinic.