March of Dimes report shows Arkansas sixth in nation as maternity care desert

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A recent study by the March of Dimes shows Arkansas as a difficult place for expectant mothers and newborns to access health care.

The 2024 report “Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the U.S.” ranked Arkansas near the bottom for access to maternity care. The report showed that 50.7% of the Natural State’s 75 counties do not have provisions for maternity care, meaning mothers have to travel out-of-county to give birth or seek health care.

The report scored states using 11 data points, such as the population-to-maternity care clinician ratio, fertility rate, and maternal health indicators. Arkansas scored next-to-last in maternity care access with a score of 14, tying Louisiana. The only state that scored lower was Mississippi, at 14.9.

The score means a typical Arkansan has to travel farther for care and is more likely to have a poor health outcome, the study claims.

The 50.7% figure contrasts with the March of Dimes 2023 study showed 45.3% of Arkansas counties as maternity care deserts, meaning the lack of care access has grown in the past 12 months.

Arkansas also ranks poorly in the study’s findings for the number of obstetricians-gynecologists, certified midwives and family physicians who delivered babies. Arkansas is fifth from the bottom of states with the lowest number of obstetric clinicians per 10,000 births, with several counties having only one obstetric clinician, meaning that the county loses support if the clinician leaves.

The study continues that in the absence of clinicians, Arkansas has a rate of 4% of certified nurse midwives or certified midwives (CNM/CM) attending births, against the national rate of 10.9% of attended births. This ranks Arkansas at the bottom for CNM/CM-attended births.

The study faults Arkansas for not extending Medicaid through 12 months postpartum, a change made possible due to a provision in the American Rescue Plan Act, leaving it at 60 days after childbirth. The authors said that since 53% of pregnancy-related deaths occur between one week and one year after delivery, cutting off access to crucial care by ending insurance coverage increases the likelihood of poor health outcomes for the mother.

Currently 46 states and the District of Columbia have extended Medicaid to 12 months postpartum, with Idaho and Iowa expected to implement a change to 12 months soon.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has asked for alternatives to Medicaid extensions to improve maternal health outcomes. A Sept. 5 report from the Arkansas Committee of Maternal Health had multiple recommendations for improvement.

The March of Dimes study also recommended increasing access to accredited stand-alone birthing centers to compensate for lack of pre and postpartum care access.

Multiple government reports have shown Arkansas ranking poorly in the nation with high rates of both maternal and infant mortality.

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