Harnessing Artificial Intelligence to Reduce Disparities in Maternal and Infant Health
Learn more about D.C. Safe Babies Safe Moms’ Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2023 Commitment to Action Project
Our nation is facing a maternal health crisis, and it’s only getting worse. All U.S. women – and particularly Black women – are at risk of dying or experiencing catastrophic health outcomes during or after giving birth. Even more tragic, we know that over 80% of these deaths and nearly 90% of pregnancy-related health conditions can be prevented by making reasonable changes to our healthcare systems and how we care for patients.
At MedStar Health, we believe that everyone should have access to quality health and mental health care, regardless of race or neighborhood. D.C. Safe Babies Safe Moms (SBSM) is a community-driven collaborative launched in 2020 with a vision to reduce maternal and infant mortality, premature births, and low birthweight and to reduce racial disparities in maternal and infant health outcomes – one of the most urgent challenges facing the District of Columbia.
The time to act is now. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are strategies that can help us in this critical effort.
Commitment to Action: Creating a safety surveillance system for maternal health
SBSM has leveraged artificial technology to uncover deep-seated disparities in maternal healthcare. One research project yielded two major findings: first, there were racial gaps in identifying anemia—a major risk factor for adverse outcomes; and second, clinicians used more negative and stigmatizing language in notes for Black patients. These sobering insights quickly seeded the idea for a new, innovative surveillance system to safeguard maternal health.
In 2023, we launched a Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment to Action project to use artificial intelligence and machine learning to help reduce disparities in maternal and infant health.
Over the next three years, we will use advanced techniques in artificial intelligence and machine learning to build a maternal and infant health safety surveillance system for clinicians to proactively identify risks that could lead to adverse outcomes for birthing individuals and their babies.
This project aims to help care teams tailor care for patients before emergencies happen and help health systems better understand and address structural racism and racial disparities in maternal care.
Check out our episode on Bright Spots in Healthcare "Safe Babies Safe Moms: Rethinking Equitable Access and Maternity Care" to learn more about how we're working to better support mothers and babies.
How to get involved
The use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve public health is a relatively new field that offers real promise to make change. A successful system could set in motion a sea change—for scientific research, healthcare providers, and most of all, mothers, their children, and the generations to come.
We invite you to partner with us in this new initiative, which will directly impact birthing individuals and families in our nation’s capital and beyond. We welcome financial investment and partners with experience in this area as we work to develop a revolutionary approach to improving maternal and infant health and reducing racial disparities.
Contact Us
To learn more about our work to improve maternal and infant health in our nation’s capital, visit MedStarHealth.org/SafeBabiesSafeMoms.
For more information on how to support this work, please contact:
Mika Standard, CFRE, FCEP
Vice President and Chief Philanthropy Officer, MedStar Washington Hospital Center
PHONE | (215) 834-1166
EMAIL | mika.k.standard@medstar.net