Prenatal-to-Three Fellows Discover Arkansas’ Maternal Health Initiatives

When Arkansas lawmakers passed the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act — expanding access to maternal care through evidence-based, bipartisan reform — they set a new standard for how policy can save lives.

In October, those same lawmakers, Representative Aaron Pilkington (R-AR) and Representative Ashley Hudson (D-AR), welcomed their fellow Prenatal-to-Three Innovation Fellows to Bentonville to see how that momentum is transforming maternal and infant health — and to spark new ideas that could shape policy across the country.

Over two days of site visits and discussions, lawmakers connected with experts and practitioners leading maternal health innovation in Arkansas. At the Helen Walton Children’s Enrichment Center, Fellows saw how investing early changes futures. At the Heartland Whole Health Institute, they learned how innovation, philanthropy, and policy can align to reimagine care. And in conversation after conversation, they discovered how building systems of care — across party lines and state lines — can drive lasting change for families.

For these lawmakers, Bentonville wasn’t just a destination. It was a blueprint for how collaboration, data, and imagination can come together to give every child the strongest possible start.