LA County Ranks 2nd in the U.S. with a 252 Maternal Care Gap, Study Reveals

Los Angeles County has some of the best hospitals in the country. It still does not have enough maternal mental health care.

 

New research from Simmrin Law Group finds the county has the second-largest maternal mental health provider shortage in the United States. There are 202 providers and programs available today.

 

Local demand calls for roughly 454. That leaves the county 252 short, behind only Harris County, Texas, at 267. The figures come from the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health’s 2025 county report, produced with George Washington University. Their model treats one provider or program as enough for every 200 births. 

 

Key Findings

 

-Los Angeles County has a 252-provider and program gap, the second-largest maternal mental health shortage in the U.S.

-The county has 202 available providers and programs, but an estimated 454 are needed to meet local demand.

-Only Harris County, Texas, has a larger shortage, with a gap of 267, just 15 more than Los Angeles County.

-Riverside County also ranks high, with a shortage of 109 providers and programs, while San Bernardino County has a gap of 106.

-Across the U.S., only 16% of the childbearing population lives in counties with enough maternal mental health resources, while 84% live in areas where local capacity falls short.

Counties With the Largest Provider Shortages

Why This Matters Now

The national provider count grew sharply between 2023 and 2025, rising from 4,506 to 9,694. Los Angeles County still runs a 252-provider deficit. That combination is the story. The workforce expanded, and the counties with the highest birth volume and the highest risk did not capture the growth.

The methodology explains why the number is so large. Need is calculated at one provider or program per 200 births, so a county with roughly 90,000 births a year carries a proportionally large requirement. Shortage coverage usually frames the problem as rural. 

Los Angeles County shows the same failure at the urban scale, driven by birth volume rather than isolation.

County-level totals also flatten what access actually looks like on the ground. Los Angeles County covers 88 cities and more than 4,000 square miles. 

A mother in the Antelope Valley and a mother in Santa Monica appear in the same countywide figure. Their travel time to a perinatal mental health specialist is not remotely the same.

The pattern extends past the county line. Riverside County is short 109 providers and programs, and San Bernardino County is short 106. Taken together with Los Angeles County, the Inland Empire and LA basin face a combined gap of 467. That points to a regional workforce problem rather than a single health system failing.

Why a Major Hospital Network Does Not Close the Gap

Los Angeles County holds some of the largest health systems in the country, including UCLA Health, Cedars-Sinai, Keck Medicine of USC, and Kaiser Permanente. The shortage persists anyway.

 Perinatal mental health is a distinct specialty workforce, counted through certified perinatal mental health providers, reproductive psychiatrists, and community-based programs. General psychiatric capacity does not substitute for it. Proximity to a major hospital tells a patient very little about whether specialized postpartum mental health care is actually available to her.

About the Study

Research by Simmrin Law Group analyzed maternal mental health provider shortages across major U.S. counties in 2025. The study compared available providers and programs with estimated local need to identify where the largest care gaps remain, including Los Angeles County’s 252-provider and program shortage.

Full Study –  https://www.simmrinlawgroup.com/research/the-link-between-postpartum-depression-and-criminal-acts/