UAMS Maternity Kits Evolve to Better Serve Arkansas Families
| The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is streamlining its efforts to improve health outcomes for mothers and newborns across the state by updating the distribution of its Mother & Infant Supply kits.
Previously, the kits were assembled into bags by hospital teams. Now, the process has been simplified to manage the growing demand and logistics of distribution. The kits arrive at the hospital prepacked in boxes, encompassing all the necessary items in a single, easy-to-distribute unit and helping to get them to mothers faster.
The kits include baby shampoo, baby wipes, diapers, diaper rash ointment, nursing pads, socks, sleep sacks and thermometers, among other items.
For mothers with hypertensive disorders, UAMS provides a blood pressure cuff to support home monitoring. This allows patients to track their blood pressure at home and recognize when they may need to return for evaluation by a physician.
Established in 2024, the Arkansas Center for Women & Infants’ Health at UAMS is spearheading the effort. Nirvana Manning, M.D., is the executive director of the center as well as the department chair and a professor of the UAMS College of Medicine Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
“We wanted families to have the necessary supplies immediately on hand at home for their health and the well-being of their babies,” Manning said. “Parents shouldn’t have to leave the house to get them in those crucial first few days and weeks.”
In April 2025, nurses first began distributing the kits to mothers of newborns at UAMS Health Medical Center in Little Rock. More recently, the center has collaborated with birthing hospitals around the state to get them to more mothers and their babies, with the goal of all delivering hospitals by the end of the year.
Leslie Bourne, RN, clinical specialist, who is involved with the program’s implementation, emphasized the positive reaction from the families receiving the kits.
“The patients love it. They love receiving all of the products that are in the bag or the box now, and they think it’s great. It has great resources for them that they might not have otherwise,” Bourne said.
The program’s reach is also expanding beyond the UAMS campus. Through the Arkansas Quality Collaborative, smaller hospitals and clinics are beginning to order the products directly from vendors, ensuring that more families across Arkansas have access to these vital tools, too.
Staff members also conduct follow-up calls to check on patients, so if a family missed receiving a kit during their hospital stay, we evaluate our process to ensure families do not miss out going forward.
As the program matures and the new distribution workflow becomes routine, UAMS aims to ensure every new mother leaves well-equipped to care for her child. Bourne expressed strong support for the continued impact of the initiative.
“I think it’s a great program, great for the patients and families. I am so glad we’ve started this,” she said.