ACHI: Most Arkansas births performed by physicians

A report issued Monday (April 29) by the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement indicates that almost 99% of babies delivered in Arkansas in 2022 were delivered by physicians, with a slight majority of the physicians being male.

ACHI analyzed birth records and physician licensure records to obtain a profile of delivering providers in the state as part of a continuing focus on maternal health. The analysis includes privately insured, Medicaid-covered and self-paid deliveries, and it shows how delivering providers in Arkansas break down by provider type, age, sex, and race and ethnicity.

“As we work with various stakeholders across the state to address the maternal health crisis impacting our moms and their babies, it is important that we have clear information about who is delivering babies in Arkansas,” ACHI President and CEO Dr. Joe Thompson said in the report. “Understanding the current landscape will help us make informed decisions to improve maternal and infant health outcomes.”

Following are some of the top findings from the report.
• Of the 32,439 deliveries that occurred in Arkansas in 2022, 98.7% were performed by physicians. The remaining 1.3% of deliveries were performed by lay midwives, certified midwives, or other healthcare professionals. The analysis excludes the small number of deliveries performed by non-healthcare professionals.

• Of the 358 delivering providers in Arkansas in 2022, 85.7% were physicians, 8.4% were lay midwives, 3.1% were certified midwives, and 2.8% were other healthcare professionals.

• Of the 307 physicians who performed deliveries in Arkansas in 2022, 81.8% were OB-GYNs, 12.7% were family medicine physicians, and 5.5% were physicians with other or unknown specialties.

• Of the delivering physicians for whom demographic information was available, 146 were male and 130 were female. However, among physicians under age 50, 102 were female and only 53 were male.

• Of the delivering physicians for whom demographic information was available, 87.7% were White, 5.8% were Black, 4% were Asian, 1.8% were Hispanic, and 0.7% were American Indian/Alaskan Native.

Link here for a separate report on delivery data in Northwest Arkansas.

ACHI is a nonpartisan, independent health policy center that seeks to be a catalyst for improving the health of all Arkansans through evidence-based research, public issue advocacy, and collaborative program development.