LITTLE ROCK – The timing could not have been better for the good news Arkansas just received.
A $17 million federal grant to improve maternal health care was formally announced a few days before the beginning of the 2025 legislative session.
Improving maternal health care is high on the legislature’s list of priorities for the session, which convenes on Monday, January 13. There is no definite ending date. However, based on the length of recent legislative sessions it will probably last until April.
The governor appointed a Strategic Committee for Maternal Health last year and one of its recommendations was to pursue the federal grant. As the governor said, “healthy moms means healthy babies.”
The grant will be implemented by the state Human Services Department, whose secretary said that it would help transform how Arkansas approaches maternal health. The department will lead the project, and will be joined by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
According to the grant application, the rate of maternal mortality in Arkansas is the highest in the country and double the national average. On average, the health of newborn infants is “considerably worse than the rest of the U.S.” when premature births, infant deaths and low birthweight babies are counted.
There are several reasons for the state’s low ranking, according to the grant application. Arkansas is rural and there are many areas where obstetrician and delivery services are not easily available. Of the 75 counties in Arkansas, 73 are classified as fully or partially under-served, and 45 counties are classified as maternal care deserts due to their lack of hospitals that offer obstetrical services. Arkansas is a poor state and Medicaid pays for 58 percentage of births.