JONESBORO, Ark. — A new list released this month by Forbes ranks Arkansas as the worst place to have a baby in all 50 states.
According to a Sept. 4 article by Forbes, Arkansas ranked lower than any other state across five metrics from two government and two nonprofit databases. Seven of the top 10 worst states to have a baby were in the South. Mississippi had the worst infant mortality rate, at 8.87 deaths per 1,000 live births (Arkansas was the second worst at 7.88). Meanwhile, Vermont was the best, with 3.33 infant deaths per 1,000 live births.
The Natural State has the highest maternal mortality rate with 43.5 deaths per 100,000 live births.
“Mothers in Arkansas are more likely to die during childbirth than any other state in the country, making it the worst state to have a baby,” wrote Meera Pal for Forbes.com.
Arkansas is also projected to have the fifth lowest percentage of need met for obstetricians and gynecologists by 2030, according to the article.
States that ranked higher had lower infant mortality rates, lower maternal mortality rates, and a higher percentage of obstetricians and gynecologists. Stunningly, Vermont recorded 4.69 deaths of mothers per 100,000 live births - just over 10% of Arkansas' 43.5 deaths per 100,000.
Read more about the rankings from Forbes.
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According to Forbes Arkansas is last in about everything. People are not leaving Arkansas to live in New York or California or other supposedly superior states. They are leaving those states to live in Texas, Florida, and yes Arkansas. I know a few recent arrivals.
Because of the maga effect