Belfast hospital to close its maternity ward

This story will be updated.

The board of MaineHealth Waldo Hospital in Belfast announced Thursday that it will be closing the facility's labor and delivery unit next spring.

The closure will take effect April 1, 2025.

Administrators had been reviewing the viability of those services since last summer, based on what they have said are declining birth numbers and difficulty finding staff.

In response to that review, many Belfast-area residents have spoken out against cutting the services, with more than 200 people showing up to a public forum hosted by the hospital in August.

The parent group of the hospital, MaineHealth, will continue to offer labor and delivery at Pen Bay Hospital in Rockport, which is roughly 40 minutes away from Belfast by vehicle.

"We know that many people in the community feel passionately that Waldo Hospital should maintain inpatient labor and delivery services despite the significant challenges associated with doing so," said Syrena Gatewood, chair of the board that oversees both midcoast hospitals. "However, the facts are compelling. Our community will have access to more reliable, safer care for expectant mothers and their babies if we partner with Pen Bay to provide this service."