100 Arkansas Moms: Postpartum Risk Factors

Arkansas has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the nation. This infographic, part of our 100 Arkansans initiative and the third and final installment of our 100 Arkansas Moms series, highlights important postpartum risk factors among new Arkansas moms (defined as women who gave birth two to four months prior to being surveyed). Data for the infographic are from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System.

Key Takeaways:

For every 100 new moms in Arkansas in 2021:

• Eighty-seven had a maternal postpartum checkup.
• Ten had no insurance in the postpartum period.
• Twenty reported experiencing postpartum depression.
• Twelve smoked cigarettes in the postpartum period.
• Seventy-seven reported using any form of postpartum contraception in the postpartum period.
• Sixteen reported using long-acting reversible contraception in the postpartum period.
• Eighty reported ever breastfeeding in the postpartum period.
• Fifty-six reported breastfeeding at eight weeks postpartum.

Our previous instalments in this series spotlighted risk factors in the pre-pregnancy period and during pregnancy.