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Maternal Infant Health Statewide Conference to focus on reducing infant and maternal mortality

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 28, 2018

CONTACT: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112 

LANSING, Mich. – To improve the health of Michigan’s mothers and babies, 500 midwives, social workers, doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals will gather to learn about and share best practices from across the country at the Maternal Infant Health Statewide Conference March 5.

Hosted at the Lansing Center by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Infant Mortality Advisory Council and the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health, this free statewide conference will provide educational opportunities to help attendees keep abreast of the latest developments in the field.

“Bringing together stakeholders from the public and private sectors to learn from one another can improve health outcomes for mothers and infants,” said Dr. Eden Wells, MDHHS chief medical executive. “This conference will help programs collaborate to ensure pregnancy, labor and delivery are safe and healthy in Michigan.”

Sessions will be led by national, state and local subject matter experts on preeclampsia, maternal smoking cessation, breastfeeding, oral health during pregnancy, preventing preterm birth, birth spacing and much more. In addition, the following plenary sessions will focus on collaborative efforts to improve health outcomes:

  • Working Together to Improve Maternal & Infant Outcomes, Dr. Elliott K. Main, medical director, California Maternal Care Collaborative; Dr. Herman Gray, chair, Wayne State University Department of Pediatrics; and Bernadette Kerrigan, executive director, First Year Cleveland.

  • Making Change at Scale: The Value of State Collaboratives, Dr. Elliott K. Main, medical director, California Maternal Care Collaborative.

  • Opioids in Pregnancy: Mitigating the Risk to Mother and Infant, Dr. Robert J. Sokol, Carl Christensen, medical director, Eleonore Hutzel Women’s Recovery center.

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