Georgia is near the bottom when it comes to giving birth. According to the most recent study by the personal finance website WalletHub, Georgia comes in at number 43 out of the 50 states and Washington D.C. on its list of 2021’s Best & Worst States to have a baby. Here’s analyst Jill Gonzalez.
“Georgia has the fifth highest infant mortality rate, and in terms of healthcare, that’s where Georgia that’s where Georgia ranked in the bottom 10,” according to Gonzalez. “So not only the infant mortality rate, but we also see a higher rate of low-birth weight or pre-term births, as well as low food security for babies.”
Gonzalez says while the pandemic only added to what can already be a stressful situation, analysts considered a variety of factors to determine the list.
“This looked at 31 different metrics of costs and healthcare accessibility as well as baby and family friendliness later on. So that data set ranges from hospital charges to average annual infant care costs, to things like pediatricians per capita.”
Analysts say more resources are needed.
Georgia has the fifth highest infant mortality rate.
“Part of it comes from the quality of women’s hospitals that could be better, as well as just simply more midwives, OBGYNs, pediatricians, family doctors per capita.
Massachusetts was the best state to give birth while Mississippi came in last at number 51.
The U.S. is one of the most expensive countries to have a baby, with mothers with insurance paying around $4,500, those costs jump to over $10,000 without insurance.
