Half of Montana is considered a maternity care desert. That’s according to a recent report. Lack of care can lead to poor health outcomes for moms and babies.
March of Dimes is a national nonprofit focused on improving maternal care. It examines access to maternity care across the country every year. The findings show half of Montana’s counties don’t have access to obstetric care, which is considered a maternity care desert.
Montana mothers also have one of the longest average drive times to reach care in the country at about 23 minutes. Women in a little over a quarter of Montana counties drive more than an hour.
These maternity care deserts put women at a higher risk of complications during pregnancy.
Many of the counties that lack maternity care include Montana’s major tribal populations.
Infant mortality among Indigenous people is twice as high compared to their white counterparts, according to a KFF analysis.
Indigenous mothers experienced the highest maternal mortality rates among all racial groups over the past 20 years.
Overall maternal death rates decreased since a large spike in 2021, according to federal data. It’s not yet clear whether maternal death rates among Indigenous women are also decreasing.
