This Father’s Day, let’s invest in Arkansas moms and babies

Father’s Day is a day for gratitude. It’s a day to celebrate the men who taught us how to ride a bike, sat beside us at the dinner table, showed up when we needed them, and reminded us that family is one of life’s greatest gifts. For me, Father’s Day is also a reminder of responsibility.

As fathers, we spend much of our lives focused on the people we love. We want our children to be healthy. We want them to have opportunities we never had. We want them to feel safe, supported and hopeful about the future. Most of all, we want to know that when they need help, that help will be there.

Those hopes begin long before a child takes their first steps or speaks their first words. They begin during pregnancy, during delivery and in the weeks and months after a baby comes home.

I have spent much of my life caring for Arkansans in emergency rooms and serving my community as a physician and legislator. But the role that has shaped me most is being a dad.

Like many Arkansas families, my wife and I have walked a road that did not always look the way we expected. As parents of a child with special needs who is now a young adult, we have experienced both the immense joys and the unexpected challenges that come with caring for someone across every stage of life. Those experiences have reinforced something I have long believed, that families thrive when they have the support they need, and communities thrive when families do.

That is why maternal and infant health matter so deeply to me.

Too often, we think of maternal health as an issue that affects only mothers. In reality, it affects all of us. The health of a mother shapes the health and wellbeing of her child, and that in turn shapes the future of our schools, workforce and communities. The choices we make today ripple outward for years, sometimes generations.

When mothers can access prenatal care, when pregnancies are monitored early, when families receive support after delivery, outcomes improve. Children are healthier, families are more stable, and communities are stronger. Investing in maternal and child health is not just a moral imperative, it is an economic one.

Arkansas has made meaningful progress in recent years. Today, our state ranks among the nation’s leaders in reducing severe maternal complications. That progress reflects the dedication of physicians, nurses, hospitals, community organizations, public leaders and families across Arkansas. And yet we also know our work is not finished.

In Arkansas, 94% of the maternal deaths that occur remain preventable, and thousands of Arkansas babies are born prematurely each year. Many families, particularly in rural communities, still face significant barriers to accessing care close to home.

As an emergency physician, I have seen firsthand the difference early intervention can make, and while I have been honored to be there for Arkansans in their moments of need, I know that the best health outcomes aren’t born in response to a health crisis, they come by avoiding that crisis altogether.

The same principle applies to maternal and infant health. Investing in care before problems become emergencies is better for families, better for communities and better stewardship of public resources.

That belief guided my support of the Arkansas Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act, which we passed last year, and which will invest additional resources to ensure Arkansas mothers can get the prenatal, delivery and postpartum care they need to ensure both a healthy pregnancy and recovery. This bill, other state initiatives and the “Claim Your Care” campaign recently announced by Governor Sanders to connect women to the pregnancy support they need, are helping expand access to care, improve coordination between providers, support rural communities and ensure that more families can receive the support they need when they need it.

In Arkansas, we take care of each other, and all of us who are parents want our children to have a healthy start. We want families to have the support they need during difficult moments. We want our communities to be places where people can build good lives and bright futures.

As fathers, we may never experience pregnancy ourselves. But we understand what it means to care deeply about the wellbeing of our families. We understand the fear that comes when someone we love is facing a medical challenge, and we understand the profound joy that comes with welcoming a child into the world.

This understanding has driven me as a physician, legislator and Heartland Forward Health Caucus co-chair to seek ways to build families and healthier communities.

This Father’s Day, let us remember that caring for families begins at the very beginning.

When we invest in healthy moms and healthy babies, we invest in stronger families, stronger communities and a stronger Arkansas.

That is work worthy of all of us.

To learn more about the Maternal & Child Health Center for Policy & Practice visit heartlandforward.org/maternal-child-health-center.

Editor’s note: Rep. Lee Johnson, R-Greenwood, is a physician who is serving his fourth term in the Arkansas House of Representatives. The opinions expressed are those of the author.