Data released in September by the March of Dimes shows continued challenges in the fight against premature births and infant mortality. Each year in Ohio, there are more than:

• 14,000 premature births
• 4,000 babies born with a birth defect
• 1,000 babies who die before their first birthday
• 150,000 women living in maternity care desserts

This data, shared by PeriStats from the March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center, has been updated with 2018 data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) dataset. Data can be searched by state and a variety of metrics in the PeriStats system available here.

Many pediatricians are passionate about helping prevent premature births and have reached out for resources to impact this struggle with their patients. The Ohio AAP has partnered with stakeholders to develop the Healthy Mom, Healthy Family program in response to these needs. By addressing risk factors during the time of interconception care – between pregnancies – pediatricians can help prepare families for future births.

Healthy Mom, Healthy Family is a quality improvement program, launching a second Wave in January 2022, that allows practices to measure and improve how they discuss some aspects of maternal health – like smoking cessation and mental health – during visits for infants. Participating practices in this project will receive 1-on-1 coaching this fall to prepare to implement the work beginning in January. All meetings are virtual and offer flexible times, so you can work around clinic hours or other meetings.

Some of the benefits designed for participating practices include:

• Cash stipends that can be used to support your staff time for the project
• MOC Part IV credit – up to 50 points for 12 months of participation
• Family incentives worth more than $1,500 – including multivitamins and books

If you are interested in learning more or enrolling in Wave 2 of the Healthy Mom, Healthy Family program, please contact Hayley Southworth at hsouthworth@ohioaap.org.