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.
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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.