2026 Event Highlights:

Infant and Maternal Mortality Conference
Respectful Maternity Care: Improving Outcomes for Mothers and Babies

Healthier Moms and Babies hosted a one-day conference that brought together healthcare providers, community organizations, advocates, and leaders committed to improving maternal and infant health outcomes.

The conference centered on respectful maternity care—care that honors dignity, listening, cultural humility, and collaboration across clinical and community settings. Through keynote conversations, breakout sessions, and shared learning, participants explored actionable strategies to improve outcomes for mothers and babies across pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period.

Featured Keynote Speaker

A confident middle-aged man with a friendly smile, bald head, and a gray beard wearing a light gray blazer over a white shirt, posing against a plain gray background.

We were honored to welcome Charles Johnson, founder of 4Kira4Moms, as our keynote speaker.

A nationally recognized advocate for maternal health and birth justice, Charles Johnson brings a powerful perspective rooted in lived experience, advocacy, and systems-level change. His keynote will challenge participants to examine how healthcare systems, policies, and community partnerships can work together to prevent maternal deaths and ensure families are treated with dignity, respect, and compassion.

Conference Details

Why This Conference Matters

Maternal and infant mortality continue to be significant public health concerns that benefit from coordinated, community-based approaches. This conference provides an opportunity for education, shared learning, and collaboration by highlighting evidence-informed practices, community perspectives, and cross-sector partnerships.

Participants will leave with practical tools, increased awareness, and clear next steps to support positive outcomes for mothers, babies, and families across pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period. 

Who Should Attend?

  • Healthcare providers, including physicians, midwives, and nurses

  • Home visiting professionals, community health workers, and doulas

  • Mental health and social service professionals

  • Public health agencies and nonprofit organizations

  • Community leaders and stakeholders engaged in maternal and infant health

What You’ll Learn

  • Factors contributing to maternal and infant mortality and opportunities to support prevention and improved outcomes

  • Recognition, prevention, and community-based approaches to preeclampsia and hypertensive disorders of pregnancy

  • Respectful maternity care practices and approaches to reducing disparities in care experiences

  • Maternal mental health, birth-related stress, and trauma-informed approaches to care

  • Community-wide safe sleep education and prevention strategies

  • Overview of workplace protections and considerations related to pregnancy and parenting

  • Prenatal stress and early brain development in infants

Featured Speakers: 

Hear from national and local leaders in maternal and infant health, advocacy, and community care, including: 

  • Brad Edwards, Director of Community Engagement & Program Strategy, Dear Fathers 

  • Ashley Rainey, IDOH Clinical Director, Women, Children, and Families Commission 

  • Dr. Sarah Turner and Sarah Lawrence, Lutheran Health Network 

  • Carta Robison, Barrett McNagny 

CEUs provided by the University of Saint Francis

Stay tuned for 2027 information to come!

Sponsorship, Attendee Registration, and Exhibitor Registration

Thank you to our 2026 Sponsors

MidWest America Federal Credit Union logo with blue and red text.
The logo of the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation featuring a stylized human figure, a bird, and the foundation's name in purple text.