Bridging the Gap in Care

The Current Landscape

Chesterfield County, situated in South Carolina's Pee Dee region, ranks at the 98th national percentile on the Maternal Vulnerability Index (MVI). As a largely rural and spread-out community bordering North Carolina, growing families here face immense geographical and systemic barriers to receiving consistent care. With effectively only 2 dedicated OB/GYNs and 1 general pediatrician to serve the entire county, the area functions largely as a maternal care desert, contributing to an alarming reality where 31.8% of mothers receive late or no prenatal care.

Unlike more urbanized centers, Chesterfield struggles with an acute provider shortage compounded by high socioeconomic constraints (86th percentile) and baseline physical health vulnerabilities (93rd percentile). When paired with severe challenges in the physical environment (97th percentile) and access to general healthcare (96th percentile), these logistical and economic hurdles culminate in an infant mortality rate of 9 per 1,000 live births. Here, distance to specialized care, persistent economic hardship, and chronic health burdens act as fundamental barriers to safe maternity and healthy early childhoods.