The Healthy Birthing Journey Podcast: Safest Method of Delivery

In the fourth episode of the Healthy Birthing Journey Podcast, we discuss the birth of a child, including factors that determine the safest method of delivery. Guests and topics include: 

• ACHI Director of Health Policy Jennifer Wessel and Assistant Director of Data Visualization and Quality Cain Farnam share their analyses on Arkansas mothers’ travel time to delivery and cesarean section rates in the state. 

• Dr. Mary Pat Hardman, an OB-GYN with the HerHealth Clinic at Washington Regional Medical Center, explains how she approaches decisions about the safest method of delivery with her patients as they create their birthing plans. 

• Arkansas Rep. Lee Johnson highlights new state policies to support Arkansas mothers, including the Arkansas Maternal Outcomes Management System, or MOMS. 

Maternal and infant mortality rates in Arkansas are among the highest in the nation, but a wide range of efforts are underway to change that. Here at ACHI, we pulled our analysts and researchers together to envision what a healthy birthing journey should look like and identify points along the way where Arkansas has opportunities to make lasting improvements for our moms, children, families, and communities. We identified nine phases from pre-pregnancy through delivery and into the postpartum period. In this episode, we explore the third phase – the safest method of delivery. 

View our infographic, “9 Points on a Healthy Birthing Journey.”