A recent University of Arkansas Medical Sciences (UAMS) study finds many hospital emergency departments have shortcomings when it comes to obstetric emergency preparedness. Sixty-one percent of Arkansas hospital-based emergency departments were surveyed regarding their experiences, capabilities, and training for obstetric emergencies. Despite there being a high number of obstetric cases in EDs each year, shortcomings regarding patient care were found.
Less than one-third of emergency departments required electronic documentation of pregnancy status and less than 50% had no field in their health records to record post-partum status. The latter is when many maternal deaths occur. The majority of EDs also have not provided their emergency room staff with any obstetric training in the past two years.
While UAMS faculty previously started working to correct the gaps in care identified in this study by leading training for ED staff and emergency medical services across the state of Arkansas through Arkansas Perinatal Quality Collaborative (ARPQC). However, Arkansas already has one of the highest maternal mortality rates and the third-highest infant mortality rate in the United States, and this is only going to get worse as more rural hospitals close their Labor & Delivery departments for budgetary reasons.
At the end of 2025, over 60% of Arkansas’s rural hospitals are at risk of permanently closing. This is a result of rising costs, lack of revenue, and staff shortages. Those staying open are having to economize, with many choosing to do so by closing their Labor & Delivery departments. This is creating “maternity care deserts,” causing emergency department staff to deliver more babies, or women travelling further for care, increasing risks, and leading to more deliveries inside ambulances.
The most recent hospital to terminate its L&D unit was Ouachita County Medical Center in Camden. It closed this month, January 2026.
In October 2025, UAMS received $4 million federal grant to support obstetric services and reduce maternal mortality in Ashley and Union counties. It is hoped the programs developed there to serve pregnant and post-partum women and their infants can be duplicated and rolled out to other parts of Arkansas in the future. If successful, this will lead to improved obstetric care throughout the state at a time when many of our women and children are at risk.
