The Michigan Department of Community Health has unveiled the state's Infant Mortality Reduction Plan, a strategy that includes significant recommendations developed from medical research conducted by the Perinatology Research Branch (PRB) of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. Announced Aug. 1, the plan promotes the adoption of universal cervical length screening by ultrasound and the use of progesterone in women identified as high risk for premature birth. The use of progesterone in women with a short cervix can reduce the rate of preterm birth - the leading factor in infant mortality - by as much as 45 percent, according to research findings published by the PRB. The study, released last year, was conducted at more than 40 centers worldwide. Wayne State was the lead center in the trial, led by Dr. Sonia Hassan, associate dean for maternal, perinatal and child health at WSU.

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20120802/MDCH-unveils-Michigane28099s-Infant-Mortality-Reduction-Plan.aspx
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2012/08/flint_will_lead_states_initiat.html
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-08/wsu--som080112.php