Campaign to Save Our Babies

" Transforming maternal and child health in the 21st century "

CAMPAIGN TO SAVE OUR BABIES

It has been more than 20 years since Illinois has brought together service providers, legislators, community residents and advocates to develop a plan to address infant mortality. In 2008, technology has advanced to the point where infants born prematurely have a much greater chance of survival than infants born too soon even 10 years ago. However, despite Illinois’ steady progress in the overall reduction of infant mortality, a significant disparity persists between African-American and Caucasian infants.

The Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition (IMCHC) a network of organizations and individuals dedicated to improving the health and well being of women, children and families has taken on the issue and has made considerable progress towards developing a plan to address the disparities in the most effective, efficient, and holistic manner. With input from hundreds of stakeholders including doctors, case managers, government officials, faith leaders, community activists, researchers, social service representatives, and women we have collectively outlined a plan and determined priority areas to reduce this disparity in 10 years and completely eliminate it in 25 years. The literature and our findings demonstrate that infant mortality is a complex problem requiring a multifaceted solution as such this plan is not limited to the health of mother and baby but instead aims to improve the quality of life for women, infants, children and families.

We are faced with a unique opportunity and challenge to confront this disparity and serve as a model in creating a state in which differential access and treatment based upon race do not determine whether a mother or child lives or dies.

10 Strategies for Illinois to Have Healthy Babies >> view list here

Maternal & Infant Mortality Summit: Part I

To view the recommendations that were developed as a part of the summit or to view the speakers presentations, click here.

NEW! Improving Infant Mortality in the State of Illinois: The Emma Report
On September 16^th The Campaign to Save Our Babies, a project of the Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition, will be releasing their recommendations to lawmakers to prevent the more than 1,300 infant deaths which occur every year in Illinois.

Click here to download the full report.