Memorial Hospital Biloxi will stop offering labor and delivery services as of Sept.1 – a change that comes seven months after Memorial Health System bought the hospital from Merit Health with intentions to expand services, including OB-GYN care. 

The Biloxi hospital will still offer gynecological services, but patients will have to go to Memorial Hospital in Gulfport or another nearby hospital to give birth.

Kent Nicaud, president and CEO of the hospital system, said his team has prepared for this transition and expects no delays in care or extended wait times at the Gulfport hospital. 

“We have recently added several new providers, including physicians and OBs, to support our growth,” Nicaud told Mississippi Today. “These resources ensure there will be no access issues or delays, and every expectant mother will receive the highest standard of care in the region.”

Both hospitals accept the same insurance, Nicaud confirmed. 

Expectant mothers who are currently patients at Biloxi have been informed about the transition, their delivery options and enhanced services at Gulfport. The two hospitals are about 15 miles apart.

The Gulfport hospital is home to Mississippi Gulf Coast’s only Level III neonatal intensive care unit. Level III is equipped to deal with babies who are born earlier than 32 weeks or who have critical illnesses. 

The availability of obstetrics care has been declining for over a decade, with labor and delivery units shuttering across the U.S., particularly in rural areas. Obstetrics is one of the most expensive services hospitals provide. 

Nicaud said this move is intended to improve efficiency, citing Gulfport’s NICU, OB emergency department and 24/7 laborist program. 

“We’re consolidating obstetrics services to give every expectant mother access to all of the region’s most advanced maternity resources in one place,” he said. “This unified approach ensures high-quality and coordinated care from pregnancy through delivery and beyond.”

The following hospitals offer labor and delivery services in Mississippi’s six southernmost counties, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health: 

• Memorial Hospital Gulfport
• Singing River Hospital Ocean Springs
• Singing River Hospital Pascagoula
• George Regional Hospital, Lucedale
• Highland Community Hospital, Picayune
• Keesler Medical Center, Biloxi.