Arkansas mom statistics at a glance
Arkansas mom statistics show a state where family formation, maternal health, and prenatal care all move together. The numbers point to a landscape with relatively high fertility, meaningful prenatal care gaps, and some of the widest maternal health disparities in the broader national picture.
Key takeaways
- Arkansas fertility rate was 58.8 births per 1,000 females ages 15-44 in 2024 (CDC Stats of the States Arkansas).
- Arkansas teen birth rate was 22.2 births per 1,000 females ages 15-19 in 2024 (CDC Stats of the States Arkansas).
- Arkansas infant mortality rate was 8.28 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024 (CDC Stats of the States Arkansas).
- Arkansas life expectancy at birth was 73.9 years in 2022 (CDC Stats of the States Arkansas).
- Arkansas late-or-no prenatal care was 9.3% in 2024, down from 11.0% in 2021 (CDC NCHS Data Brief 550).
- Arkansas maternal mortality rate was 50% higher than the national rate for 2013-2017 (Arkansas MMRC Legislative Report).
Contents
- How Arkansas compares on birth and family measures
- Maternal mortality and the risk gap
- Prenatal care patterns in Arkansas
- What PRAMS says about Arkansas mothers
- Why the numbers matter together
How Arkansas compares on birth and family measures
Arkansas sits in a set of birth and family statistics that are notable for both volume and complexity. The fertility rate of 58.8 births per 1,000 females ages 15-44 in 2024 (CDC Stats of the States Arkansas) suggests that childbearing remains a central part of the state’s demographic profile. The teen birth rate of 22.2 births per 1,000 females ages 15-19 in 2024 (CDC Stats of the States Arkansas) shows that teen pregnancy still matters in the state conversation.
The family structure numbers add another layer. Births to unmarried mothers accounted for 44.4% of all live births in Arkansas in 2024 (CDC Stats of the States Arkansas). That figure does not tell you anything by itself about parenting quality, support, or stability, but it does show that a large share of births happen outside marriage.
Arkansas birth indicators table
| Measure | Arkansas value | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fertility rate | 58.8 births per 1,000 females ages 15-44 | 2024 | CDC Stats of the States Arkansas |
| Teen birth rate | 22.2 births per 1,000 females ages 15-19 | 2024 | CDC Stats of the States Arkansas |
| Births to unmarried mothers | 44.4% of live births | 2024 | CDC Stats of the States Arkansas |
| Cesarean delivery | 34.0% of live births | 2024 | CDC Stats of the States Arkansas |
| Preterm birth | 12.13% of live births | 2024 | CDC Stats of the States Arkansas |
| Low birthweight | 9.54% of live births | 2024 | CDC Stats of the States Arkansas |
| Infant mortality rate | 8.28 infant deaths per 1,000 live births | 2024 | CDC Stats of the States Arkansas |
| Life expectancy at birth | 73.9 years | 2022 | CDC Stats of the States Arkansas |
The delivery and newborn outcomes are where the picture becomes more concerning. Cesarean delivery accounted for 34.0% of all live births in Arkansas in 2024 (CDC Stats of the States Arkansas), while preterm birth accounted for 12.13% of all live births and low birthweight accounted for 9.54% (CDC Stats of the States Arkansas). The infant mortality rate of 8.28 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2024 (CDC Stats of the States Arkansas) sits alongside those outcomes rather than apart from them.
That is the key pattern in Arkansas mom statistics. The state is not just looking at how many women give birth. It is also looking at how often pregnancies begin with risk, how often births arrive early, and how often babies are born small or face severe early-life health challenges.
Maternal mortality and the risk gap
The maternal mortality numbers are the clearest sign that Arkansas mom statistics are not just about pregnancy, but about safety. According to the Arkansas MMRC Legislative Report, Arkansas ranked 46th out of 50 states in maternal mortality in the 2019 Health of Women and Children Report cited by the state MMRC. That ranking is a blunt indicator that the state has substantial room for improvement.
The same report says Arkansas maternal mortality rate was 50% higher than the national rate for 2013-2017 (Arkansas MMRC Legislative Report). That comparison matters because it shows the state was not merely below average in a small way. It was substantially higher than the national benchmark.
A particularly striking comparison in that report notes that Alaska’s maternal mortality rate of 12.4 deaths per 100,000 live births was less than half Arkansas’s rate in the 2013-2017 comparison (Arkansas MMRC Legislative Report). This kind of gap is useful because it shows how wide variation can be among states even when they are all part of the same national system.
Who faces the highest maternal risk
The risk pattern is not evenly distributed. The Arkansas MMRC Legislative Report says Black women die of maternal mortality at almost twice the rate of white women. It also says the maternal mortality rate among older women is four to five times higher than the rate for younger women. Those two statements matter together because they show that maternal risk is shaped by both race and age.
The national CDC figures reinforce the same broad pattern. In the U.S. in 2024, 649 women died of maternal causes (CDC Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2024). The U.S. maternal mortality rate was 17.9 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2024 (CDC Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2024).
U.S. maternal mortality comparison table
| Group | Maternal mortality rate | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. overall | 17.9 deaths per 100,000 live births | 2024 | CDC Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2024 |
| Black non-Hispanic women | 44.8 deaths per 100,000 live births | 2024 | CDC Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2024 |
| White non-Hispanic women | 14.2 deaths per 100,000 live births | 2024 | CDC Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2024 |
| Hispanic women | 12.1 deaths per 100,000 live births | 2024 | CDC Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2024 |
| Asian non-Hispanic women | 18.1 deaths per 100,000 live births | 2024 | CDC Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2024 |
| Women younger than 25 | 13.7 deaths per 100,000 live births | 2024 | CDC Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2024 |
| Women ages 25-39 | 16.5 deaths per 100,000 live births | 2024 | CDC Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2024 |
| Women age 40 and older | 62.3 deaths per 100,000 live births | 2024 | CDC Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2024 |
The age split stands out. Women age 40 and older had a maternal mortality rate of 62.3 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2024 (CDC Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2024), which is far above the younger age groups shown in the same CDC release. That does not mean age alone determines outcome, but it does show how sharply risk can rise as pregnancies occur later in life.
For Arkansas readers, the takeaway is not only that maternal mortality is elevated. It is that the risk is layered across geography, age, and race, which means broad averages can hide concentrated danger.
Prenatal care patterns in Arkansas
Prenatal care is one of the clearest places to look for early intervention. It is also one of the most practical measures to examine because it reflects access, timing, and continuity of care.
Arkansas late-or-no prenatal care was 9.3% in 2024, down from 11.0% in 2021 (CDC NCHS Data Brief 550). That change is encouraging, but the number still means nearly one in ten pregnancies had late or no prenatal care. For comparison, U.S. first-trimester prenatal care was 75.5% in 2024, U.S. second-trimester prenatal care was 17.3% in 2024, and U.S. late-or-no prenatal care was 7.3% in 2024 (CDC NCHS Data Brief 550).
Prenatal care comparison table
| Measure | Arkansas | U.S. | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late-or-no prenatal care | 9.3% in 2024 | 7.3% in 2024 | CDC NCHS Data Brief 550 |
| First-trimester prenatal care | 83.3% in 2019 PRAMS | 75.5% in 2024 | Arkansas PRAMS Surveillance Report 2019; CDC NCHS Data Brief 550 |
| No prenatal care in first trimester | 16.5% in 2019 PRAMS | Not stated in the supplied data | Arkansas PRAMS Surveillance Report 2019 |
| No prenatal care at all | 0.2% in 2019 PRAMS | Not stated in the supplied data | Arkansas PRAMS Surveillance Report 2019 |
The table mixes years because the supplied dataset gives Arkansas PRAMS detail for 2019 and CDC national detail for 2024. That is still useful because it shows a consistent theme: the timing of care matters, and Arkansas has a nontrivial share of pregnancies that start care later than ideal.
The PRAMS survey adds another perspective. Arkansas prenatal care in the first trimester was 83.3% in the 2019 PRAMS survey (Arkansas PRAMS Surveillance Report 2019). Arkansas PRAMS respondents with no prenatal care in the first trimester were 16.5% in 2019, while Arkansas PRAMS respondents with no prenatal care at all were 0.2% (Arkansas PRAMS Surveillance Report 2019). Those figures suggest that access exists for many women, but not early enough for everyone.
What PRAMS says about Arkansas mothers
The 2019 Arkansas PRAMS Surveillance Report provides a useful snapshot of who mothers were and what they reported before and during pregnancy. These details help explain why one-size-fits-all policy often falls short.
In Arkansas PRAMS 2019, 64.7% of mothers were White non-Hispanic, 17.9% were Black non-Hispanic, and 14.8% were Hispanic (Arkansas PRAMS Surveillance Report 2019). The age distribution was also varied: 6.1% were under age 20, 26.1% were ages 20-24, 54.5% were ages 25-34, and 13.2% were age 35 or older (Arkansas PRAMS Surveillance Report 2019).
PRAMS profile snapshot
- 56.6% of mothers were married and 43.4% were unmarried (Arkansas PRAMS Surveillance Report 2019).
- 55.4% used Medicaid for prenatal care (Arkansas PRAMS Surveillance Report 2019).
- 51.7% received WIC during pregnancy (Arkansas PRAMS Surveillance Report 2019).
- 32.7% had obesity before pregnancy, 29.0% had overweight BMI, 34.9% had normal pre-pregnancy BMI, and 3.5% were underweight before pregnancy (Arkansas PRAMS Surveillance Report 2019).
- 22.9% reported depression before pregnancy, 5.3% reported high blood pressure before pregnancy, and 1.9% reported type 1 or type 2 diabetes before pregnancy (Arkansas PRAMS Surveillance Report 2019).
The preventive care indicators are just as important. In Arkansas PRAMS 2019, 59.7% did not take vitamins in the month before pregnancy, while 29.0% took vitamins every day of the week before pregnancy (Arkansas PRAMS Surveillance Report 2019). That gap suggests preconception health habits were uneven.
Health system contact before pregnancy was also mixed. Arkansas PRAMS 2019 shows 54.8% saw a family doctor in the year before pregnancy, 56.4% saw an OB/GYN in the year before pregnancy, and 56.1% had pre-pregnancy dental care visits (Arkansas PRAMS Surveillance Report 2019). In the same report, 31.8% were told about folic acid during a pre-pregnancy health care visit, 35.1% were told about healthy weight, and 13.5% were told about controlling diabetes or high blood pressure during a pre-pregnancy health care visit (Arkansas PRAMS Surveillance Report 2019).
Those numbers matter because they show where counseling and prevention can be strengthened. If more than half of mothers are already seeing a clinician before pregnancy, then those visits are an obvious place to discuss medication safety, nutrition, chronic disease control, folic acid, and weight management.
Why the numbers matter together
The most useful way to read Arkansas mom statistics is not as separate facts, but as a chain. Fertility, teen birth, prenatal care, maternal mortality, and infant outcomes are connected.
A state with a fertility rate of 58.8 births per 1,000 females ages 15-44 in 2024 (CDC Stats of the States Arkansas) is managing a substantial amount of pregnancy-related care. When 9.3% of births still involve late or no prenatal care in 2024 (CDC NCHS Data Brief 550), the health system loses some chance to identify risks early. When preterm birth is 12.13% and low birthweight is 9.54% in the same year (CDC Stats of the States Arkansas), the downstream effects are visible in newborn health. When maternal mortality is higher than the national rate and risk is much worse for certain groups, the stakes rise further (Arkansas MMRC Legislative Report; CDC Maternal Mortality Rates in the United States, 2024).
A practical reading of the data is this:
- early care still needs work,
- high-risk pregnancies need more focused follow-up,
- and the state’s maternal health gaps are wide enough that average progress can hide persistent harm.
The numbers also suggest that prevention cannot sit in just one place. It has to span primary care, OB/GYN care, prenatal care, postpartum follow-up, and support for chronic conditions before pregnancy begins. That is especially true when 55.4% of mothers used Medicaid for prenatal care and 51.7% received WIC during pregnancy in Arkansas PRAMS 2019 (Arkansas PRAMS Surveillance Report 2019). Those programs reach a large share of mothers, which makes them important channels for consistent guidance and follow-up.
Arkansas mom statistics therefore describe more than motherhood. They describe a public health system that has real contact with many families, but still faces serious gaps in timing, equity, and outcomes. The data show where the risks are concentrated, where care starts too late, and where the largest opportunities for prevention still remain.