Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced the launching of a statewide campaign to help new and expecting mothers learn about prenatal and maternal health care services in their community. Gov. Sanders says the “Claim Your Care” campaign will raise awareness about resources available through the 92 state health units in all 75 counties across Arkansas.
In a statement released by the governor’s office, it explained that the effort is designed “to help women who are pregnant, may be pregnant, or planning for pregnancy, to quickly find care and support through Arkansas Health Units (AHUs) across the state.”
As Little Rock Public Radio reports, Health Secretary Renee Mallory explained during a health expo during the Wednesday, May 6th official launch, that their campaign follows a recommendation from a committee on maternal health. “At Arkansas Department of Health, we took that recommendation seriously. Our health units already offered a wide variety of services for women and families to include pregnancy testing, WIC, immunizations and more. But we knew we needed to fill some serious gaps in maternal health care.”
AHUs are county-based public health clinics staffed by nurses and other healthcare professionals. The governor’s statement also explained that while AHUs do accept insurance, if a person does not have insurance, or has a limited ability to pay, services are provided at no out-of-pocket cost.
As part of the public awareness campaign, it rhetorically asks the question, “Why this matters?” Answers provided include the fact that:
- Arkansas has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country;
- Early prenatal care reduces the risk of complications, preterm birth, and maternal death;
- Barriers including geography, transportation, cost, and lack of awareness prevent women from accessing care.
The 2025 March of Dimes Arkansas Report Card bears out many of these facts. The group Arkansans for Improving Maternal Health pointed out several observations about the report card in its December 22, 2025, Facebook posting.
Among those observations were worsening rankings in low-risk C-sections, and adequate prenatal care. The group did cite improvements in Arkansas’ rankings for severe maternal morbidity, and maternal mortality.
As for the new public awareness campaign for Arkansas Health Units, it is also highlighting research which shows awareness gaps are a primary barrier, with 40% of women on Medicaid not receiving prenatal care in their first trimester; and 78% of women are not aware Arkansas Health Units provide pregnancy support. Families can find their local AHU and more resources at ClaimYourCareAR.com.
