In a joint interview with KARK Channel 4’s Capitol View, Olivia Walton, chair of the Crystal Bridges Museum, and Dr. Nirvana Manning, chair of UAMS Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, spoke about Arkansas’ maternal mortality rate, which Walton said is overlooked.
In Arkansas, there are about 45 pregnancy-related deaths per 100,00 births, according toEvery Mother Counts, a nonprofit that works to improve access to maternity care. The U.S as a whole has about 30 pregnancy related deaths per 100,000 births. Walton said it is unacceptable for Arkansas to have this many pregnancy-related deaths compared to the rest of the nation.
“Maternal health I think is really a key signal of society’s health overall,” she said.
Despite the amount of pregnancy-related deaths in Arkansas, Walton added there is hope.
“What gives me hope is that Dr. Manning’s Maternal Mortality Review Committee concluded that over 90% of those deaths could be preventable so we can do something,” she said.
Manning said the lack of access is one of the factors that is causing Arkansas to have one of the nation’s highest maternal mortality rates.
“With our state that I love, access is hard. You have so many corners of the state that have little to no access to care at all,” Manning said. “At the beginning of the pandemic, we had 39 delivering hospitals. By 18 months into the pandemic, we now have 37. These are access points through our state so every one of those hospitals that close is patients that can’t get to that area.”
Manning said during the pregnancy process, women have to visit with doctors multiple times and that can be difficult to do if they have to drive an hour or longer to each visit.
During the 2023 legislative session, Arkansas’ maternal mortality rate was a focus of the legislature, according to the Arkansas Advocate. Rep. Aaron Pilkington, R-Knoxville, sponsored a bill to expand postpartum Medicaid coverage from two months to a full year. In Arkansas, 44% of births are financed with Medicaid, according to Every Mother Counts. The bill did not pass.
Pilkington also sponsored a bill to require Medicaid to cover the cost of postpartum depression screening for new mothers. This bill was signed into law by Gov. Sarah Sanders, Republican.
