Alabama Is 2nd Worst State In Which To Have A Baby: Study

WASHINGTON, DC — A recent study shows Alabama is among the worst states in the country in which to have a baby. The WalletHub study revealed the state ranked poorly in all of the metrics used to rank the states.

The personal-finance website today released its report on 2019’s Best & Worst States to Have a Baby, with Alabama ranking as the 2nd worst, behind only Mississippi.

To determine the most ideal places in the U.S. for parents and their newborns, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 30 key measures of cost, health care accessibility and baby-friendliness. The data set ranges from hospital conventional-delivery charges to annual average infant-care costs to pediatricians per capita.

Having a Baby in Alabama (1=Best; 25=Avg.):

• 45th – Infant Mortality Rate
• 48th – Rate of Low Birth-Weight
• 39th – Midwives & OB-GYNs per Capita
• 46th – Pediatricians & Family Doctors per Capita
• 43rd – Parental-Leave Policy Score

The state has refused to receive federal funding from the Affordable Care Act, which has forced many rural hospitals to close in the state, a problem that has been one of Sen. Doug Jones' key talking points since taking office in Washington in 2017.

Hospitals in Jacksonville, Winston County, Roanoke, Chilton County, Florala and Thomasville have all closed within the last few years, and Jones introduced last year the bipartisan Rural Health Liaison Act (RHLA), with Senators Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) as co-sponsors.

Alabama's poor ranking among infant healthcare was one of the issues brought to light by those opposed to Alabama's controversial abortion ban, which was passed in May and signed by Gov. Kay Ivey.