A call center aimed at providing proactive postpartum help to Arkansans will expand by the end of this year, intent on reaching every new mother in the days after she gives birth.

The center started making calls on May 1, said Dr. Nirvana Manning, director of the new Arkansas Center for Women and Infants’ Health. The Proactive Postpartum Call Center is one of three initiatives spearheaded by the center and paid for by a $5 million congressional earmark it received last fall, she said.

Rather than waiting for mothers to call with questions they might not know to ask, the call center will call them and provide information, resources and follow up care, said Manning, who is also the head of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ obstetrics and gynecology department.

Arkansas has

See Full Page