FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A new report found that Arkansas children within diverse racial groups such as Black, Native American, and Pacific Islanders rank low in overall well-being.
The report, published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, measures child and youth well-being across the U.S. Ten years' worth of data showed that a huge factor in the overall poor well-being is low birth weight, specifically within the Black community in Arkansas.
According to Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families (AACF), a statewide nonprofit organization, for a baby to live up to their full potential, weight at birth is strongly connected to how they'll survive their first year of life.
"There are diseases that are more prevalent in kids that are born with low birth weights, for example, as adults, they might be more prone to things like asthma, diabetes, heart disease," AACF's Race and Equity Director Maricella Garcia said. "So when we look at really important factors, birth weight is one of them."
Garcia said low birth rates can stem from non-white pregnant mothers not receiving the same amount of access to prenatal healthcare as their white counterparts. In the report's state-to-state comparison of well-being for Black children, Arkansas ranked 42nd in the nation.
"Because of the way systems have been in our country, black communities, especially indigenous communities, as well, and other communities of color, have been systematically excluded from access to quality health care," Garcia said. "But even when you have that access, we know that that is not a guarantee that as a black woman, you'll be heard."
Implementing and funding certain policies would majorly impact minority families in Arkansas, one program being the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).
"WIC is such a hugely important program because, again, that early nutrition intervention when someone's pregnant, as such dividends is also a program that we know is so successful because of health targeted program as opposed to just a food program. They provide nutritional education, they provide nurses," Garcia said.
To mitigate the low birth rate issue, the report suggests:
- Congress should expand the federal child tax credit. The temporary, pandemic-era expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) lifted 2.1 million children out of poverty, with the share of kids in poverty falling to 5.2% in 2021, the lowest rate on record.
- States and Congress should expand the earned income tax credit.
- Lawmakers should consider baby bonds and children’s savings accounts — programs that contribute public funds to dedicated accounts to help families save for their children’s future.
- Policymakers must create targeted programs and policies that can close well-being gaps for young people of color because universal policies are important but insufficient for continued progress.
Additionally, Garcia said, "One of the policies I would say is making sure that infants are enrolled automatically in Medicaid if their mom had a pregnancy ... You want access as soon as possible to healthcare because that is more likely to grant you a healthy pregnancy, a healthy weight baby, you know, full-term baby, which is more likely to mean fewer complications in the future. And then definitely carrying that Medicaid through that first year afterward."
Beyond the low birth rate found in non-white babies in Arkansas, there's also an overall issue with child well-being in Arkansas, which ranked 47th in child well-being among white children.
- Asian and Pacific Islander children: 42nd
- Black children: 42nd
- Latino children: 45th
- White children: 47th
If you or someone you know in Northwest Arkansas needs proper prenatal and perinatal care, Mercy Hospital Northwest Arkansas has a perinatal navigator.
Mercy NWA is designated as a UAMS Milk Bank depot, where mothers can donate their breast milk to be used by babies here in NWA and across the state to help with the work to ensure healthy weight development for infants. It's the only UAMS Milk Bank Depot in NWA, so all the milk collected stays here in Arkansas.
Watch 5NEWS on YouTube.
Download the 5NEWS app on your smartphone:
Stream 5NEWS 24/7 on the 5+ app: How to watch the 5+ app on your streaming device
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com and detail which story you're referring to.