A maternal health initiative that started with a University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences call center reaching out to its own patients after they give birth has now expanded to the patients of five other hospitals, UAMS announced Tuesday.
The Proactive Postpartum Call Center, funded by a $5 million congressional earmark secured by U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., launched a pilot phase at the beginning of May for all postpartum patients at UAMS Medical Center in Little Rock.
Nurses at the call center reach out to new mothers following deliveries to discuss topics such as recovery, infant care, lactation support and insurance questions as well as connect patients to follow-up care and resources.
On Tuesday, UAMS said its Arkansas Center for Women & Infants’ Health has expanded the program to include five other hospitals.
UAMS spokesperson Leslie Taylor confirmed those additional sites are Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould, Delta Memorial Hospital in Dumas, Jefferson Regional Medical Center in Pine Bluff, Saline Memorial Hospital in Benton, and Willow Creek Women’s Hospital in Johnson. Other hospitals “will be added soon,” she said.
Hospitals participating in the initiative must sign agreements allowing access to patients’ contact and medical information. Staff intend to secure participation from all 33 birthing hospitals in Arkansas before 2026, according to a news release.
Historically, Arkansas has ranked towards the bottom of the country in maternal and infant health statistics. A 2025 document from the nonprofit organization March of Dimes reported the state as having an infant mortality rate of 8.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023, worse than every other state and nearly 50% higher than the United States average. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determined Arkansas as having the fifth-lowest maternal mortality rate (38.6 deaths per 100,000 live births) between 2018 and 2022, about 67% above the national rates.
“The Arkansas Center for Women & Infants’ Health’s proactive Postpartum Call Center is transforming how we reach and support postpartum women across Arkansas,” Manuel E. Tejada, the center’s program director, said in the release. “By reaching out to them during the first six weeks after birth, we are connecting with these women at a time when maternal mortality risk is at its highest. That means that for some of these women, these calls can be the difference between life and death.”
One call recipient credited the hotline with informing her to go to triage, according to the release, where she discovered she had postpartum preeclampsia — a post-childbirth condition, sometimes life-threatening, associated with symptoms such as high blood pressure and excess protein in urine.
Staff reported another example of an interpreter and nurse contacting a woman who didn’t speak English. After the nurse determined her symptoms required immediate care, the mother was diagnosed with a “serious infection” requiring emergency surgery and medication. She was released from the hospital three days later.
“Our goal is to take the burden off families to reach out and ask for help,” said Dr. Nirvana Manning, chair of the UAMS Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and director of the center, in the release. “This initiative calls all moms and hopefully allows for more trust and dialogue.”
In addition to the hotline, the center debuted two other maternal health initiatives this year. In April, nurses began distributing maternal and infant health supply kits, which contain items such as baby shampoo, baby wipes, diapers, diaper rash ointment and nursing pads, to women after they give birth.
UAMS staff also started delivering bracelets adorned with text stating “I gave birth” to postpartum patients in February. The bracelets are meant to both give visual indicators to health care providers that the wearer is still at risk of post-birth complications and provide educational information and resources to the mother via a QR code.
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