Data Visualization Lab · Maternal Health

Access, Risk, & the Geography of Maternal Mortality

Exploring how obstetric care infrastructure, urbanicity, and regional context shape maternal mortality rates across Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi.

Counties 3States MMR Range Obs. Hospitals

Underlying Dataset — County-Level Records

All 246 county records across AL, AR, and MS. MMR = Maternal Mortality Rate (deaths per 100,000 live births). Hospitals = facilities with obstetric care. HCSDS = Health Center Service Delivery Sites.

StateCountyRegionMMR Obs. HospitalsUrbanicityHealth CentersPop. Women 15–44

Maternal Mortality Rate by Urbanicity & State

Grouped bar chart comparing average MMR across urban-rural classifications within each state. Reveals whether rural counties face systematically higher rates — and whether this varies by state.

MMR Across Urban–Rural Classifications

Average maternal mortality rate (per 100K births) by NCHS urban-rural class, grouped by state.

Does Hospital Access Lower Maternal Mortality?

Scatter plot: each bubble is a county, x-axis = number of hospitals with obstetric care, y-axis = MMR. Bubble size reflects female population 15–44. Color indicates state. A trend line shows the aggregate relationship.

Obstetric Hospitals vs. Maternal Mortality Rate (per county)

Each bubble = one county. Size ∝ female population ages 15–44. Color = state.