The Health Secretary has ordered the first step in a top-level review of plans to end consultant-led maternity services at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton.
The proposals sparked protests when they were put forward last year.
The NHS says that the changes are down to safety.
If the plans were to go ahead, some mothers would then face a journey to Middlesbrough.
Jeremy Hunt has now asked an independent panel to report back to him next month, as to whether there should be a full review.
The MP for Thirsk and Malton, Anne McIntosh, has expressed her concern for cuts to health funding in North Yorkshire.
Although this review is informative a lot of work still has to be done to ensure that North Yorkshire gets a consistently high level of health care whilst reducing the historic debt created by the underfunding
I am campaigning hard with other North Yorkshire MPs for fairer funding for the NHS and we are holding a meeting in early February to discuss the review and why NHS North Yorkshire receives £17 million less than the allocation should provide for their local population demographic.
Director of Public Health warns of "postcode lottery" in North Yorkshire
Patients in North Yorkshire face a "huge danger that the postcode lottery will expand," the county's new Director of Public Health has warned.Dr Lincoln Sargeant issued the warning as local GPs' groups prepare to inherit a debt of £15m from the NHS.
Family doctors are to take over the running of much of the health service in North Yorkshire on April 1.
But there are fears that health care will fragment in the county and the population of 800,000 will receive different standards of service because of cuts - and the abolition of a single NHS body to oversee treatment and care.
NHS in North Yorkshire calls in consultants to balance the books
NHS organisations in North Yorkshire facing debts of millions of pounds, have revealed they have paid private consultants KPMG up to £320,000 to draw up a list of cuts to be made to the local healthservice to try and balance the books.
Minor injury units in North Yorkshire could be cut
The number of minor injury units in North Yorkshire could be cut as part of a multi-million pound savings drive says local NHS report just released.NHS North Yorkshire is facing a £15m overspend by April and is expected to have to make cuts of £200m by 2015.
£320,000 report into NHS North Yorkshire cutbacks "disappointing"
Two directors of the organisation which runs the NHS in North Yorkshire have described a report which has cost taxpayers £320,000 as "disappointing."
NHS North Yorkshire and local health trusts paid private business consultants KPMG to draw up plans to make multi-million pound savings in the county's health service.
But the report published today, reveals few specific details about where and when the savings will be made. Campaigners fear the county will be left with a second class health service, if large-scale cutsare made.