Olivia Walton invests $100 million to reduce U.S. maternal mortality
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Olivia Walton, the CEO of Ingeborg Investments and a member of the Walmart founding family, launched a nonprofit called Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America to address the maternal health crisis in the United States.
Walton pledged $100 million over five years to reduce the national maternal mortality rate by half. She cited her own experience in Arkansas, where she received inadequate postpartum care despite her family's wealth, as the primary motivation for the initiative.
The nonprofit uses advocacy, storytelling, and grant-making to drive systemic change. Walton noted that Arkansas has a maternal mortality rate nearly double the national average, comparing it to the rate in Cuba. She highlighted that the risk is three times higher for Black and brown women. To begin the work, the foundation provided $10 million each to Arkansas and Kentucky to improve maternal health services in those states.
Walton warned that upcoming Medicaid cuts and changes to American Medical Association billing could worsen the crisis. To ensure long-term progress, she urged employers to expand pregnancy and postpartum benefits, arguing that better care improves health outcomes and lowers costs for self-insured companies. She also called for a larger workforce of midwives and doulas to support new mothers.
