Local doctors and advocates are working to lower Michigan’s high maternal and infant mortality rates and the financial pressures that come with a new baby.

As part of its broader efforts to improve maternal and infant health outcomes, the SOS MATERNITY Network will host a Community Baby Shower on Tuesday, May 19, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at the Marygrove Conservancy in Detroit.

The SOS MATERNITY Network announced that more than 2,000 patients have been enrolled in the program, an important early milestone for this first-of-its-kind statewide organization uniting Michigan’s top hospitals, universities and health care providers to improve maternal and infant outcomes throughout the state.

Though maternal and infant mortality rates in the United States are higher than in other developed nation, the SOS Maternity Network (Synergy of Scholars in Maternal and Infant Health Equity) is turning things around for expecting mothers in Michigan!

The event is set to take place in the Ramsdell Room in the Flint Farmers Market from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on April 13.

As Michigan faces alarming maternal and infant mortality rates, a health care collaborative led by Wayne State University’s Office of Women’s Health on Oct. 28 formally launched the SOS MATERNITY Network, which seeks to end preventable causes of death in mothers and children.

For the first time in Michigan, the state, its leading hospitals, and universities are teaming up with one simple objective: “to stop moms and babies from dying.”

Fourteen of Michigan’s leading health networks and institutions gathered Monday to announce a collaboration funded with state dollars meant to decrease the state’s maternal and infant mortality rates.

The program aims to dramatically reduce premature births and help treat or prevent dangerous conditions during pregnancy, like pre-eclampsia and high blood pressure.

Leaders from across Michigan have united through the SOS MATERNITY Network to address maternal and internal mortality in Michigan.