Our nation’s capital and Escambia County may not have a lot of things in common. But maternal and infant wellness are challenges in both communities.
In 2023, Escambia County’s infant mortality rate was 7.9 deaths per 1,000 live births, higher than Florida’s 5.6 deaths per 1,000 live births.
D.C averaged a comparable 7.2 deaths per 1,000 live births over a period from 2015-2019, but to reduced that ratio to 5.5 deaths per 1,000 live births from 2019-2023—a 23.6% drop, according to D.C. Health’s 2025 Perinatal Health and Infant Mortality Report.
Dr. Catherine Limperopoulos, center director of Prenatal, Neonatal and Maternal Health Research at Children’s National Hospital in D.C., credited some of that success to growing awareness that making a community’s babies healthier starts with making its moms healthier.
“Pervasive sadness and hopelessness profoundly impair women’s health and function, especially during pregnancy when societal stigma makes some women reluctant to seek help,” Limperopoulos said. “Washington, D.C., like Escambia County, struggles with poor maternal and infant health outcomes.”
She added, “We’ve connected thousands of women to needed resources, behavioral therapy, peer support and care coordination. It’s all part of our overall effort to redefine pediatrics to embrace maternal health as critical to children’s health, beginning prior to birth.”
In a free CivicCon event May 11, Limperopoulos and colleague Dr. Nickie Andescavage will share some of the ways that Washington, D.C., is addressing the issues in a presentation “Strengthening Maternal and Infant Wellness through Community: It Takes a Village.”
Mental health issues, gestational diabetes, gestational hypertension, interpregnancy, substance abuse and smoking are among the challenges that led to pregnancy complications and infant mortality. A lack of trust between expectant mothers and healthcare providers also plays a role.
Drawing on leading research in fetal and neonatal neuroscience, the speakers will highlight practical ways communities can better support maternal mental health and improve outcomes for children and families.
Limperopoulos is an internationally recognized neuroscientist and leader in fetal and neonatal brain imaging. She directs advanced research focused on early brain development and has spent her career studying how conditions during pregnancy shape long-term neurological outcomes.
Andescavage is a maternal-fetal medicine specialist and physician-scientist whose work focuses on high-risk pregnancies and advanced imaging of the developing fetus. Her research bridges clinical care and neuroscience to better understand how prenatal conditions impact infant health and development.
In Escambia County, local stakeholders have taken steps to address the problems with the fall 2025 formation of the Maternal Health Task Force. Spearheaded by Rep. Michelle Salzman, the task force’s goal is to address barriers to prenatal and postnatal health care as well as maternal mental health issues.
The task force has already identified five Escambia County zip codes with troubling infant mortality rates. The county averages about 30 infant deaths each year—with 32505, 32507, 32514, 32526 and 32533—accounting for the majority of the deaths.
Carlton Ulmer, co-founder of Pensacola’s Build a Brain, Build a Life, Build a Community, said the task force has decided to address 32505, where four or five deaths occur each year. The area does have a high birth rate but also the county’s highest infant mortality rate.
“When we looked at 32505, this is what we found: 24 mortalities over a five-year period. Only 79% of the moms had prenatal care. Of the ones who did, they averaged six visits and most of them didn’t start until month three or four,” Ulmer said.
The largest number of infants in Studer Family Children’s Hospital NICU are born to mothers who live in 32505, noted Dr. Dawn Walton, the hospital’s chief medical officer.
She said the zip code accounts for about 10% of preterm births and 60% of the expectant mothers who have late or no prenatal care. These mothers also have at least one pregnancy risk factor, with most having several, Walton said.
The task force has already come up with some solutions such as partnering with clergy and churches, schools, other organizations, along with meeting expectant mothers where they are. The ideas came out of an April workshop where about 30 task force members brainstormed ways to tackle the high infant mortality rate in the 32505 zip code.
Limperopoulos and Andescavage seek to contribute to the conversation with some real-world examples of ways they’ve been able to help move the needle in their community.
“I’m looking forward to visiting Pensacola to talk about a few projects we’ve championed to serve under-resourced women and their children in the greater D.C. region,” Limperopoulos said. “Among other innovations, I’ll talk about Mommy&Me, a research study specifically focused on Black moms.”
The event will be 6-7:30 p.m. May 11 at First United Methodist Church, 2 E. Wright St., in downtown Pensacola.
The free event is open to all. Registration is available by searching “CivicCon” at eventbrite.com. Registering will allow attendees to submit questions to the doctors in advance. The event will be live streamed on pnj.com and on Pensacola News Journal’s Facebook page at facebook.com/pnjnews.
CivicCon is a partnership of the News Journal and the Center for Civic Engagement to help empower citizens to better their communities through smart planning and civic conversation.
More information about CivicCon, as well as stories and videos featuring previous speakers, is available at pnj.com/civiccon.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: How do we stop babies from dying? Help moms treat sickness and hopelessness
Reporting by Mary Lett, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
