DETROIT (WXYZ) — Every two minutes, a mother loses her life trying to bring a child into the world. And in Michigan, the numbers are only going up. So, the SOS Maternity Network is coming together to help fight this epidemic.
“Everything in your health and your baby’s health starts in pregnancy,” said Dr. Sonia Hassan, the founding director of Wayne State University’s Office of Women’s Health.
Hassan is no stranger when it comes to guiding expectant mothers into healthy deliveries and reducing the infant mortality rates. When she first began her career as an obstetrician, she said she saw babies dying prematurely more often.
Hassan said this experience helped her to become more passionate about infant mortality and mothers dying during pregnancy, but not before she had a lived experience.
“My maternal grandmother died as it relates to pregnancy,” Hassan said. “So my mom was a young child and she grew up without a mom as a result.”
Hassan says this sad situation had a heavy impact on her family. But she said when she got older, she was surprised to see mothers losing their lives from pregnancy and babies were also dying after child birth.
“The rates of preterm birth now are at its highest rate in 20 years,” Hassan said. “One in 10 babies is born early. Every two minutes, a mom dies during pregnancy."
Hassan said there are many contributing factors for this but in Michigan, expectant mothers having high blood pressure is a main one and another is transportation.
“If you join and become an SOS mom, you get the guarantee of three things," Hassan said. "One is you get a guarantee of the best medical tests and treatments for your pregnancy for your hospital or doctor’s office. Number two, you have transportation to all your pregnancy visits because access is an issue as well. And number three there, is a patient navigator who works with SOS moms to try to see what do you need.”
The SOS Maternity Network is made up of multiple health care systems across the state.
Elizabeth Hertel, the director of the Michigan Department of Human Services, said the state will be doing their part to help.
“We’re really invested in the collaboration between the organizations,” Hertel said. “Especially the universities and the health systems to make sure that every mom is receiving the kind of care that they should be getting and so that we know that they are getting to those appointments and getting those services both prenatally and post-birth to try to reduce the premature births and the outcomes after birth that are negative in some cases.”
Kidadda Green of the Black Mothers Breast Feeding Association echos Hertel’s sentiments on reducing infant mortality. She says one solution is to replenish a premature baby through breast milk.
“Because breast feeding is the just right infant feeding option. It provides the proper nutrients for accelerated growth and development that premature infants need,” Green said.
Hassan says she encourages all expectant moms to look out for signs that could ultimately lead them into early childbirth. But the most important sign she says to be aware of: “If you just don’t feel right, that is a sign — for sure.”
