Health scorecard seeks to reduce Indiana infant, maternal fatalities

By Terri Dee • Indiana News Service

Indiana ranks third in the nation for the number of women who die during pregnancy or up to 12 months postpartum. Recent figures range from 31 to 43 deaths per 100,000 live births six weeks after the pregnancy ends.

Cradle Indy is a new collective impact model composed of five central Indiana healthcare systems developing a Maternal and Infant Health Scorecard to provide greater visibility about maternal and infant health.

Nicole Carey, executive director of Cradle Indy, said the real impact is blending a fragmented system of care to form a support resource.

“When a mom becomes pregnant, where does she go? Who does she look to for guidance? How does she navigate the system? A family who touches one program that’s connected to us can get connected to all the support that they need instead of falling through the cracks, which happens so often here in Marion County,” Nelson explained.

Nelson pointed out many young families feel they are a burden when reaching out for help and start without a strong emotional, physical or financial foundation. The scorecard will create shared accountability among the health entities, support collaboration and share best practices to reduce maternal deaths.

Women of color across the country report incidences of medical staff dismissing or ignoring their concerns during their pregnancies. In 2025, a Black woman in active labor was discharged by a northwestern Indiana hospital physician only to give birth eight minutes later by the road.

Nelson emphasized Cradle Indy is intentional in seeking solutions with, not for, the community by creating an advisory committee composed of mothers and fathers to input their firsthand stories.

“We have a program called the Cradle Indy Ambassadors,” Nelson noted. “Those are folks that are not within the maternal-infant health field but have experienced the healthcare system, have experienced infant loss, or some sort of trauma in their pregnancy.”

Information will not be sought just from the medical industry, Nelson added, but a network of community and faith-based organizations and grassroots leaders.