“Baby/Girls,” a documentary that premiered at the Bentonville Film Festival, reveals the challenges faced by young mothers in Arkansas.

This news story was originally published by THV11 on Thursday, June 18, 2026, and features Teen Health Arkansas Executive Director Hope Crenshaw, PhD.

BENTONVILLE, Arkansas — The Bentonville Film Festival is officially back in Northwest Arkansas, showcasing dozens of short films for the first time that spark conversation. 

This year, a new documentary, “Baby/Girls,” was shown at the festival, highlighting teen pregnancy in Arkansas. The production shared deeply personal stories of three young mothers from Northwest Arkansas. 

Over two years, the film follows Grace, Olivia, and Ariana as they navigate pregnancy, motherhood, and the childhood challenges that shaped them.

After the screening, a panel of healthcare providers, advocates and the film’s directors discussed teen pregnancy in Arkansas and the resources that are available to young parents.

Dr. Nirvana Manning, an OG-GYN at UAMS, says about 40% of teen mothers in Arkansas will become pregnant again within 18 months of giving birth. She also said more than half of patients miss their postpartum visits. 

“We often talk about teen pregnancy statistics instead of the people actually behind them,” Manning said. 

Manning said UAMS has worked to expand access to immediate postpartum long-acting reversible contraceptives, known as LARCs, including IUDs and Nexaplon implants. In 2023, Act 581 required Medicaid to cover those contraceptives immediately after postpartum.

She said data has shown promising results. Central Arkansas saw a 38% decrease in teen pregnancies, and UAMS has found similar declines in counties where hospitals have been trained to provide immediate postpartum LARCs. 

Dr. Hope Crenshaw, executive director of a new organization called Teen Health Arkansas, said Arkansas consistently ranks near the top nationally for teen births, but she doesn’t believe the choices young people are making here are different anywhere else. 

“What we know is that there’s simply a lack of knowledge and information,” Crenshaw said. 

Crenshaw said many young people need better access to information about healthy relationships, boundaries, reproductive health and available resources. She also stressed the importance of having trusted adults in young people’s lives. 

“If young people have access to just one caring adult who’s willing to listen to them and have hard conversations, young people are poised to succeed,” she said. 

The documentary’s director, Alyse Walsh, said the goal was not to push a particular viewpoint but to give young mothers the opportunity to tell their own stories. 

The Bentonville Film Festival continues through June 21.