Addressing Access Gaps to Support Healthy Mothers and Babies in Detroit, Michigan

Maternal and infant health outcomes vary across communities in the United States, influenced by access to prenatal care,

availability of health providers and broader social and economic conditions. These factors can shape the health of mothers and infants throughout pregnancy and beyond.

Black Maternal Health Week is an opportunity to spotlight how data can help identify ways to strengthen access to care and improve maternal and infant health outcomes. Through a United Health Foundation grant partnership, Birth Detroit

 has launched the city’s first freestanding birth center to expand access to prenatal, postpartum and pediatric care.

Black women make up 17.8% of women of reproductive age (18-44) in Michigan, with a higher concentration

 in urban areas such as Detroit. Consistent with national data, measures of maternal and infant morbidity and mortality are significantly higher among Black mothers and infants compared with the white population in Michigan:

• The maternal mortality rate was 2.3 times higher among Black mothers (37.1 deaths per 100,000 live births), compared with white mothers (15.8) in 2019-2023. 
• Infant mortality was 2.7 times higher among Black infants (12.8 deaths per 1,000 live births), compared with white infants (4.7) in 2022-2023.
• Severe maternal morbidity was 1.6 times higher among Black women (135.2 complications per 10,000 delivery hospitalizations) than white women (86.2) in 2022.

Adequate prenatal care is essential for healthy pregnancies and births,

helping reduce complications for both mother and baby. In 2023, mothers received adequate prenatal care for 75.2% of births nationwide. Michigan ranked No. 28 among states in this measure, with 77.6% of births receiving adequate care — slightly higher than the national rate, but still below the Healthy People 2030 goal

 of 80.5% for early and adequate care set by  the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). 

Expanding access to community-based services,

including midwifery-led care, may help strengthen support for mothers and babies and improve continuity of care.

Explore additional measures related to prenatal and maternal care, such as maternity care deserts, by viewing Explore Health Topics: Health and Pregnancy.

To help address gaps in maternal health care, the United Health Foundation has partnered with Birth Detroit

 to support the opening of the city’s first community-based freestanding birth center.

Birth Detroit, a Black-led midwifery practice, provides prenatal, childbirth and postpartum care, along with childbirth education and additional services for families. This partnership

supports the continuation and expansion of childbirth education classes, screening services and the future launch of pediatric care at the Birth Detroit Birth Center.

“Supporting this family throughout their pregnancy and birth showed what community-based, culturally responsive care can make possible. The parents said they felt informed, respected and supported at every stage of pregnancy, and they were ultimately able to welcome their baby into the world in the way they had envisioned.” 
– Angela, Birth Center Midwife, Birth Detroit

• Maternal Mortality
• Severe Maternal Morbidity
• Infant Mortality
• Adequate Prenatal Care