ARKANSAS, USA — Arkansas ranks number one for the highest maternal mortality rate in the country, and on Sept. 5, a panel formed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a report detailing how to fix that.
The report says 50 to 60% of pregnancies in Arkansas are covered through Medicaid every year.
The state wants to increase Medicare options by providing quicker maternal care and creating a reimbursement plan for doulas.
Nicolle Fletcher with UJIMA maternity network says this is a game changer for pregnant women.
"The ones that benefit the most from this type of support often can't afford it," Fletcher explained. "So, it is an experience and a service that they're often foregoing just for financial means. So, it expands our workforce."
UAMS has worked throughout the year to train as many doulas as possible.
"Within the next year, we hope to have at least 80 new doulas. Then two years out having at least 200 new doulas," said Krista Langston, the Executive Director of the UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation.
There are also plans to expand the number of healthcare workers and increase educational awareness in rural areas to encourage more prenatal care.
"I think there's a lot of distrust in the healthcare system in some of these rural communities," Langston said. "So how do we pull those health systems, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, together to address this problem?"
As stakeholders work to deconstruct that stigma, UAMS is meeting pregnant women where they are.
"We have worked to launch mobile prenatal care clinics within the state, really focusing on reaching the state's rural areas with no access to prenatal care. We've launched maternal prenatal clinics in Madison County, Phillips County, and we're looking to expand to south Arkansas over the next two years," Langston added.
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