A longtime mission to help Black parents and their babies thrive is driving the expansion of obstetrics and gynecology services at UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial in south suburban Harvey.

The kickoff of Black Maternal Health Week 2025 on April 11 underscored that work — and the continued need for strong, culturally competent care. Ingalls is one of only two facilities in the south suburbs to maintain a fully operational birthing unit; others have recently closed.

Black birthing people in Illinois face worse disparities in care than their white counterparts, said Jamie Horn, MD*, an OB-GYN with UChicago Medicine Medical Group who is on staff at Ingalls and also serves as the Medical Director of Labor and Delivery for Ingalls.

She said having close-to-home care teams can help.

“We want to make sure every family that comes through our doors has the chance at the best outcome possible,” Horn said.

Many factors challenge those outcomes. Black children are 13 times more likely than children of other races in Illinois to experience sudden infant death syndrome, or SIDS, according to the 2020-2021 Cook County Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Report.

Black women are also three to four times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women, federal data show, and they’re likelier to experience preterm delivery and severe maternal morbidities such as high blood pressure, blood clots or depression.

Classes, resources support new parents

Increasing access to maternal healthcare is one of the priorities outlined in Ingalls’ Community Health Needs Assessment, a comprehensive plan designed to improve the health of residents in the Southland area.

Ingalls’ Healthy Baby Network (HBN), founded in 2006, has been providing Black parents with education, resources and treatment — all for free and starting at the bedside.

Patients are identified through Labor and Delivery, where OB Program Manager Shanice Williams works to establish future care and connect parents-to-be with critical resources such as prenatal education and medical insurance.

HBN has helped more than 2,600 new parents since Williams began leading the program in 2008 — with 97% of participants connected with resources within 24 hours.

“Each class, event and resource provides birthing people with help on a different step in their pregnancy journey,” Williams said.

Helping hand beyond the hospital

Increasingly, such help begins before the delivery room.

Last year, the HBN conducted 31 prenatal education classes in the community and at Ingalls Memorial. Topics included childbirth preparation, breastfeeding and infant care.

The education series is also launching new classes like Dancing Mamma Jamma (a dance class to help prepare birthing people for labor) and a maternal mental health class as well as an upcoming maternal mental health conference for parents in May.

Other efforts ensure that new parents and their babies can have a healthy start at home.

In 2024, HBN distributed 414 safe sleep travel cots to all newborn babies at the hospital in Harvey, along with sleep sacks. Additionally, they distributed 250 baby bags of supplies to community members during the fifth-annual Drive-Thru Baby Shower.

Departments team up to expand care

There is also increased integration of services between the UChicago Medicine Labor and Delivery unit in Hyde Park and the UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial Labor and Delivery unit in Harvey. This will support increased communication between staff at each location and, if necessary, patient transfers if medical needs dictate.

More benefits are on the way. UChicago Medicine in Hyde Park plans to offer its specialized services, including Maternal-Fetal Medicine, minimally invasive care and complex family planning, at UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial in the fall of 2025.

“At the time of the acquisition of Ingalls by UChicago Medicine in 2016, Ingalls was already delivering safe, high-quality care in a community hospital setting,” said Mike Antoniades, President of UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial. “Partnering with the UChicago Faculty Physicians** in Hyde Park has enabled Ingalls to enhance its patient care even further.”

*Jamie Horn, MD, is a UChicago Medicine Medical Group provider. UChicago Medicine Medical Group comprises UCM Medical Group, Inc. f/k/a UCM Care Network Medical Group, Inc., and UCM Medical Group Sub, LLC f/k/a Primary Healthcare Associates, S.C. UChicago Medicine Medical Group providers are not employees or agents of The University of Chicago Medical Center, The University of Chicago, or UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial.

**UChicago Faculty Physicians hold positions with the University of Chicago and provide care for patients on the academic health system’s main campus in Hyde Park and in care centers throughout the region. UChicago Faculty Physicians who provide services at UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial are not employees or agents of UChicago Medicine Ingalls Memorial.