Kentucky among the worst states to have a baby: Forbes

KENTUCKY ( FOX 56 ) — Kentucky is under fire again when it comes to the health of mothers and babies.

Forbes has released a new list ranking the best and worst states to have children.

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The list looked at five metrics, including infant mortality rate, maternal mortality rate, needs being met for obstetricians and gynecologists, and the cost of having a baby.

Kentucky, on average, scored among the lowest percentile across these categories, ultimately landing as the seventh worst state to have a baby.

The biggest issue based on Forbes reporting for Kentucky is the maternal mortality rate. Kentucky has a maternal mortality rate of 38.4, the sixth highest on the list, according to Forbes.

In July, the Commonwealth Fund released the 2024 State Scorecard on Women’s Health and Reproductive Care . The Commonwealth Fund also showed Kentucky doing poorly, placing the Bluegrass State at 40 out of 51 for women’s health and reproductive care outcomes.

Dr. Sara Collins, senior scholar and vice president of the Commonwealth Fund, previously told FOX 56 that Kentucky was a "mixed bag" when it comes to women's health, with women having better access to insurance coverage.

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But the Commonwealth Fund also highlighted Kentucky's failings seen in the Forbes list. Showing, Kentucky ranked in the bottom half for women's health at the 48th spot in deaths among women of reproductive age, the third worst in the country.

"These causes of death include many that are preventable and treatable with adequate healthcare, such as pregnancy and substance use,” Collins previously told FOX 56 News.

Differences in reporting between Forbes and the Commonwealth Fund are likely due to different data sets being used. For the maternal mortality rate, Forbes used data from the CDC from 2018 to 2021, and the Commonwealth Fund used CDC data from 2020–2022.

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