In October, more than 150 people from across Missouri attended Missouri Foundation for Health’s (MFH) annual infant mortality conference. This year’s conference, “Maternal and Infant Health in MO: Collaborative Approaches to Vitality Across the Lifespan,” emphasized the importance of making connections between organizations to achieve lasting change in our communities.
Racial equity continues to be an overarching theme to addressing infant health as well as maternal health in Missouri. Several speakers dove deeper into the historical and current issues that have placed Black families at a disadvantage and ultimately impact their health, including Jessica Roach, founder and executive director at Restoring Our Own Through Transformation (ROOTT). This initiative works in Ohio, where infant mortality rates are among the worst in the country as a consequence of structural and institutional racism. Like FLOURISH, ROOTT focuses on centering Black women and women of color to improve health outcomes and advocate for reproductive justice.
Nina Martin, sex and gender issues reporter for ProPublica, also was a keynote speaker. In July 2017, she published the “Lost Mothers” project, which told the stories of 134 mothers who died from pregnancy-related causes in 2016. She continues to investigate issues related to pregnancy complications and maternal mortality.
FLOURISH presented as part of two roundtables sessions. One focused on safe sleep education initiatives happening across Missouri, including our efforts to help hospitals become safe sleep certified, and the upcoming Safe Sleep Summit on November 15. Another FLOURISH roundtable introduced attendees to the community-led approach we are taking in the infant mortality reduction initiative, and provided lessons learned in restructuring our work to truly be led by the community through the Community Leaders Cabinet.
Many representatives from FLOURISH attended the conference, including members of our Community Leaders Cabinet and Generate Health staff and board members. Other organizations represented included state agencies, members of the Missouri House of Representatives, hospitals and managed care organizations, academic institutions, and many community-based and advocacy organizations. Bootheel Babies, the infant mortality reduction initiative in southeast Missouri, also joined the conference, along with some of their community partners.
