Overview
- Destatis released updated figures through 2024 alongside a refreshed Krankenhausatlas that maps gynecology and obstetrics access nationwide.
- Hospitals with delivery wards declined from 1,186 in 1991 to 578 in 2024, while births were 18.4% lower than in 1991.
- Specialty departments in gynecology and obstetrics fell from 1,275 to 758, bed capacity dropped from about 66,400 to 24,100, and occupancy slid from 77.4% to 56.4% as average stays shortened.
- The atlas shows stark gaps in 15‑minute car reachability for women aged 16–49: 95.1% in large cities versus 73.4% in medium towns, 44.7% in larger small towns, and 29.9% in smaller small towns or rural municipalities.
- In Saxony‑Anhalt, delivery hospitals fell from 36 to 18 since 1991, and only 18.2% of women in rural areas can reach a birth clinic within 15 minutes.