Written by Tanya Terry, with photos by Tanya Terry
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!
As Michigan’s largest maternal-fetal medicine obstetrical research collaborative, the SOS Maternity Network is committed to protecting the health of pregnant women and infants.
The Network worked with McLaren Flint and Hurley Medical Center to host a Community Baby Shower on Monday, April 13, at Flint Farmer’s Market.
During the event, Flint Resident Naija Brown, who is expecting twins she will name Ra’Miah and Rahmir on September 4, received a double stroller and two car seats. She was the programs 2,000th participant, and she shared her positive experience with the SOS program. She expressed gratitude for the support system provided by the program, noting she believed the program helped prevent her from entering depression and gave her strength as a mother.
“I was getting a little depressed, but I really didn’t fall into the depressed stage, I could say, because with them being there and then the moral loyal support out there, everything was fine,” Brown said.
Brown said she had fun at the event! It featured a hot buffet or cold lunches for attendees, 28 raffle prizes ranging from diaper bags with baby essentials to baby gyms, a chance for those who were not yet SOS moms to meet with SOS patient navigators, a presentation with speakers involved with the SOS MATERNITY Network and much more!
But Brown’s favorite part of the event was having the opportunity to consult with maternal-fetal medicine specialists.
Dr. Sonia Hassan Duggan is associate vice president at Wayne State University and director of SOS Maternity Network. Hassan Duggan also helped lead the Southern Michigan Regional COVID-19 Collaborative, which later became the SOS Maternity Network, by investigating the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on pregnancy, particularly focusing on preeclampsia and preterm births
“So, there may be many reasons for maternal mortality,” said Hassan Duggan “Some of them are high blood pressure. Some of them are bleeding. There’s a number of causes, and, there are a number of things that can be done to prevent that. And some of those things we do in the Maternity Network, like do medication to reduce preterm birth through high blood pressure reduction, and we improve access to care.”
Hassan Duggan added that preterm birth is the leading cause of infant mortality in Michigan, referring to delivery before 37 weeks.
According to Hassan Duggan, SOS Maternity Network helps their moms get to the actual appointments with transportation. Hassan Duggan stressed that prenatal care is extremely important to reduce infant mortality and maternal mortality.
She added: “The other things would be doing those things we know already help. So, they actually provide aspirin to the pregnant patients, which helps with reducing bleeding issues and hypertensive issues during pregnancy. Then, we are doing the ultrasounds.”
Hassan Duggan said it’s important for the SOS Maternity Network to highlight that there are definite health disparities between Black and non-Black women. There are higher rates of every complication around that, including higher rates of preterm birth and pre-eclampsia for Black women, which could make participating in the SOS Maternity Network even more important for expecting Black moms.
“I think really the question I got quite frequently was how they sign up for the program,” said Brian Tessler, system chief medical director for women’s health and perinatal services at McLaren.
“Yeah, we had moms at the event that are not part of the program yet…and they were excited hearing about it,” Tessler added.
Tessler said he thought the event went really well.
“We gave some great information to everybody,” he added. “We love SOS with McLaren because it really stands behind what we’re trying to do for moms, which is regain trust in our communities, because I think that’s a big reason as to why a lot of women don’t get the right health care. We’re also making sure that they’re getting education and getting advocacy for their pregnancies.”
Expecting mothers can learn more about and sign up for the SOS Maternity Network program through the SOS website at sosmaternity.org
