LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A recent study by the March of Dimes highlights both Missouri and Arkansas as difficult places for expectant mothers and newborns to access health care.
The 2024 report “Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the U.S.” ranked Missouri and Arkansas near the bottom for access to maternity care. The report showed that 51.6% of the Show Me State’s counties and 50.7% of the Natural State’s counties do not have provisions for maternity care, meaning mothers have to travel out-of-county to give birth or seek health care. That gives Missouri and Arkansas the fourth and sixth-worst rates in the country respectively.
Arkansas legislators work to tackle maternal health issue, postpartum Medicaid coverage The report scored states using 11 data points, such as the population-to-maternity care clinician ratio, fertility rate, and maternal health indicators.
For example, 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 2024 figures contrast with the March of Dimes 2023 study that showed 41.7% of Missouri counties and 45.3% of Arkansas counties as maternity care deserts, meaning the lack of care access has grown in the past 12 months.
Missouri investing millions to reduce maternal mortality rate The study also shows many counties in Missouri, especially in the eastern part of the state, find themselves with considerably longer travel times for maternal care compared to other parts of the country because of gaps in accessibility and infrastructure challenges.
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.
Committee sends plan to improve maternal mortality, infant health in Arkansas to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed a law in 2023 extending Medicaid through 12 months postpartum, joining 45 other states and the District of Columbia with Idaho and Iowa expected to implement a change to 12 months soon.
Arkansas 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 the lack of pre and postpartum care access.
New Arkansas non-profit working to advance maternal health care Multiple government reports have shown Missouri and Arkansas rank higher than the national average for both maternal and infant mortality rates.
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