In Michigan, the infant mortality rate for Black babies is more than double the national average.

That reality is among several startling statistics from a new 2024 March of Dimes Report Card for Michigan that’s causing heartburn for a SOS MATERNITY Network that’s working to do something about it.

“While we take pride in the medical advancements achieved over decades, it is disheartening and unacceptable that both the United States and Michigan continue to face alarmingly high rates of maternal and infant mortality compared to most developed countries,” Sonia Hassan, the network’s coordinator, wrote in an editorial for The Detroit News.

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While the situation is bad in the U.S. generally, it’s even worse in Michigan, where the rate of 6.4 deaths per 1,000 live births outpaces the national rate of 5.6 by nearly a full point.

“The infant mortality rate among babies born to Black birthing people is 2.1x the state rate,” according to the March of Dimes report.

The data, based on the infant mortality rate from 2020-2022, shows 13.4 deaths per 1,000 live births for Black mothers.

“Our black birthing patients are four to five times more likely to have complications or severe morbidity or mortality from pregnancy-related things,” Abigail Ramseyer, specialist with University of Michigan Health-Sparrow, told WLNS. “We also know that four out of five maternal deaths are preventable…so we need to be doing things to move that needle to make sure we are providing high-quality care to people.”

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The March of Dimes graded Michigan a D+ for infant mortality, ranking the state 34^th nationally among 50 states and two territories. The statewide rate of 6.4 deaths in the 2024 report is also worse than last year’s 6.2.

In terms of Michigan’s 10.3% preterm birth rate, March of Dimes gave a Michigan C-, slightly better than 2023, and ranked the state 26^th nationally, though some areas of the state are significantly worse than others.

Detroit, Michigan’s largest city, came in dead last among 100 U.S. cities with the greatest number of live births with a preterm birth rate of 15.6%.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Department of Health and Human Services contends the numbers point to barriers to care that “persist for Black women and birthing people from marginalized communities,” and “underscore systemic inequities, social biases, racism, and discrimination.” Despite the failure of a Mother Infant Health & Equity Improvement Plan to reduce infant mortality between 2020 and 2023, the Whitmer administration is banking on a new Advancing Healthy Births plan for 2024-2028 to turn things around.

SOS MATERNITY, meanwhile, is calling on the state’s health care providers, community advocates and patient populations to take real actions that will make a difference.

“Recognizing that this crisis cannot be tackled alone, 14 leading universities and health care systems across Michigan have established SOS MATERNITY, a first-of-its-kind network seeking to end preventable causes of death in mothers and children,” Hassan wrote. “This initiative is a critical step toward unifying our efforts to save lives. We are creating a robust framework for improving maternal and infant health outcomes by implementing best practices, providing transportation and employing navigators to support patients’ care needs throughout pregnancy.”

SOS MATERNITY is leveraging connections forged in the health care community during the pandemic to implement a six-step plan that may actually improve outcomes for real people.

“These are not just statistics. Each fatality devastates families across our community: the Michigan Maternal Mortality Surveillance Program reports that almost three-quarters of the state’s reviewed pregnancy-related deaths were preventable,” Hassan wrote.

The plan, she wrote, involves “Bundling the latest tests and treatments and making them available at all SOS sites; Providing transportation to doctors’ appointments and medical care; Standardizing comprehensive screening for all patients; Assuring the most advanced treatments are available to all patients at all SOS sites; Issuing financial assistance to pregnant moms for attending milestone doctor visits, and offering a patient navigator to help guide each patient through pregnancy and connect them to needed resources.”

“Our historic statistics on infant and maternal deaths are stark, but they do not have to remain our future,” Hassan wrote. “We must rally together to support maternal and infant health in Michigan. We know how to flip the script to make certain that all pregnant moms receive the support and care they need for the healthiest possible perinatal period.”