Background:  According to the 2007 Big Cities Health Inventory, the City of Milwaukee ranks 7th worst for infant mortality among the 53 largest cities in the US, and the disparity between Milwaukee’s infant mortality rates for African Americans and whites is one of the worst in the nation. In response, the City of Milwaukee Health Department is hosting the second annual infant mortality summit with a focus on the leading cause of infant death:  prematurity.  This year, we are putting a special emphasis on addressing physicians, nurses, and midwives due to the special role they play in caring for pregnant women. 

To learn more, click here to visit our Infant Mortality web page. 

The summit will focus on three actionable steps that providers can take to address prematurity:

• Special steps needed for women who had had a previous preterm birth (such as 17P)

• Smoking cessation amongst pregnant clients (as well as avoidance of second hand smoke)

• Detecting and treating chronic disease, and infection and reinfection