WHO WE ARE
The Synergy of Scholars in Maternal and Infant Health Equity network across Michigan, SOS MATERNITY network, engages maternal-fetal medicine practitioners from 14 leading universities and hospital systems across the state of Michigan with a Wayne State University coordinating center at the heart of Detroit.
The leading doctors from 14 major Michigan universities and healthcare systems are tired of the talk and tired of just reading reports. We know what the best practices are to prevent preterm birth and maternal mortality and we think it’s time they were implemented across Michigan.
Michigan – one of the worst states in America for pregnant moms and babies
- Michigan’s 10.6 preterm birth rate in 2022 was the highest in 15 years.
- Our infant mortality rate of 6.5 was well above the national average – we lost more than 600 babies last year before their first birthday.
- And our pregnant moms? Last year, nearly 100 moms died from complications related to childbirth – a 30% increase from just 5 years ago.
- Despite medical advances nationally, in Michigan the outcomes for our pregnant moms and newborns are only getting worse.
- Corewell Health East (formerly Beaumont Health) & Oakland University
- Ray Bahado-Singh
- Ali Alhousseini
- Theodore Jones
- Zeynep Alpay Savasan
- Corewell Health West (formerly Spectrum Health)
- Lisa Thiel
- Marcos Cordoba
- Wayne Health/DMC
- Kara Patek
- Henry Ford Hospital & Michigan State University
- D’Angela Pitts
- Gregory Goyert
- Hurley Hospital Flint
- Omari Young
- Mohamed Satti
- Hutzel Women's Health Specialists
- David Kmak
- Diane Vista-Deck
- Sparrow Medical Group & Michigan State University
- Abigail Ramseyer
- Denny Martin
- Trinity Health Ann Arbor
- Pooja Mittal Green
- University of Michigan
- Elizabeth Langen
- Wayne State University
- Sonia Hassan
- Robert Sokol
- Hala El Ouweini
SOS Network was first formed in May 2020 as the Southern Michigan Regional COVID-19 Collaborative, a coalition of 14 healthcare institutions serving communities throughout the state in Michigan’s largest maternal-fetal medicine obstetrical research collaborative to date. The Office of Women’s Health at Wayne State University served as the coordinating center and executed data use agreements across each of the partnering institutions. The network collected data on over 1,400 women and reported maternal-fetal health outcomes demonstrating higher rates of preterm birth, preeclampsia and health disparities in pregnant women with COVID-19 in Michigan. Upon the conclusion of this research effort, these health leaders elected to reconfigure the group into the Synergy of Scholars for Maternal and Infant Health Equity in Michigan (SOS MATERNITY in Michigan) Network to further investigate and implement evidence-based practices to improve maternal and infant health disparities across the state. The current network is responsible for over 50,000 deliveries per year in Michigan. Additional centers in Michigan will be added, creating a true Statewide coalition. The Network will also partner with the Michigan Perinatal Quality Collaboratives who are funded by the State of Michigan.
SOS MATERNITY in Michigan will improve maternal-child health outcomes through a blend of dissemination of evidence-based best practices, community engagement, educational programming, research and advocacy measures.
These providers will directly improve statewide maternal-child health outcomes through uniting medical and structural interventions to provide effective evidence-based care. Best practices in the SOS MATERNITY Network will draw on community engagement, educational programming, research and health advocacy to facilitate a cross-disciplinary approach to comprehensive patient care.
WHO IS THE SOS MATERNITY?
Access to maternity care is essential for preventing poor health outcomes and eliminating health disparities.
The state of Michigan has allocated $8 million to fund a first of its kind statewide network of 14 maternal-fetal medicine universities and health care systems to decrease the rates of pre-term birth and improve the health of pregnant mothers and their infants.
Joining Mid-Michigan Matters today is Dr. Abagail Ramseyer with Sparrow Medical Group’s maternal-fetal medicine.
Every two minutes, in about the time it takes to read a page of your favorite book or brew a cup of coffee, a woman dies during pregnancy or childbirth, according to a February 2023 report from the World Health Organization.
