Sonia Hassan, M.D., associate vice president and founder of Wayne State University’s Office of Women’s Health, was selected by WJR radio (760 AM) for a Women Who Lead Award for November.

A professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the WSU School of Medicine, Dr. Hassan leads the SOS MATERNITY Network, a coalition of 14 leading maternal-fetal medicine universities and health care systems across the state working together to end preventable causes of death in mothers and children. The state of Michigan has allocated $11 million to fund the first-of-its-kind statewide network.

WJR interviewed Dr. Hassan about the network and its goals. Listen to the Nov. 23 interview with Dr. Hassan here.

Every two minutes, a woman dies of pregnancy or childbirth worldwide, and the latest statistics indicate that the infant mortality rate in Michigan is higher than the national rate of 5.6%. There are measures that can be taken to reduce complications of pregnancy by more than 40%. The network will focus on making sure every pregnant mother in Michigan has access to the best possible care.

“The SOS MATERNITY Network has created a statewide network of Michigan’s finest universities and health care systems to declare war on our terrible rates of maternal and infant mortality,” Dr. Hassan said recently. “Through this initiative, we seek to standardize best practices across Michigan physicians, increase access of pregnant moms to prenatal care and create systems of support for pregnant moms to have the healthiest pregnancy possible.”

The network will develop a new model for the delivery of care for pregnant women and newborns, and will participate in rigorous research evaluation led by WSU’s Office of Women’s Health to show the effect of this model.

Despite medical advances nationally, in Michigan the outcomes for pregnant women and newborns continue to worsen. In fact, network leaders said, Michigan is one of the worst states in America for pregnant moms and babies. The March of Dimes’ most recent rankings concluded that the state rated a D+ for efforts to protect the lives and health of pregnant women and infants. The state’s 10.6% preterm birth rate in 2022 was the highest in 15 years. The 6.5 (per 1,000 births) infant mortality rate was well above the national average, and nearly 100 mothers died from complications related to childbirth, a 30% increase from just five years ago.

In addition to focused research and standardizations of best practices statewide, the SOS Maternity Network will:

• Increase access to prenatal care through transportation and individualized patient navigators.

• Create a system of incentives for pregnant mothers to have the healthiest pregnancy possible.

• Focus on prevention of preeclampsia and preterm birth, the primary causes of deaths of pregnant women and newborns.

Visit the Office of Women’s Health website to see a full list of partners and learn more about the SOS MATERNITY Network.