2011
The Delaware Perinatal Quality Collaborative is established as the clinical arm of DHMIC.
DEDelaware Healthy Mother & Infant Consortium
Twenty Years of Impact
In 2005, Delaware had the sixth-highest infant mortality rate in the nation. This is the story of what a state can do when it decides that every baby deserves a first birthday.
2005 Starting Line
9.3
infant deaths per 1,000 live births
2026 Today
5.4
a 36.2% decline
2005-2006 / Where the Work Began
A Crisis, Named Out Loud
The Infant Mortality Task Force produced a report exposing significant racial and ethnic disparities and called for action. That report led directly to the creation of the Delaware Healthy Mother & Infant Consortium (DHMIC), established by Executive Order Number Seventy-Three.
In 2006, the consortium officially launched, charged with preventing infant mortality, improving the health of women of childbearing age, and closing the gaps that made some babies far less likely to survive than others.
- 9.3
- infant deaths per 1,000 live births, sixth-highest in the nation
Executive Order No. 73
2008-2011 / From Crisis to Collaboration
Prevention Goes Statewide
Committees formed inside DHMIC. Safe-sleep education spread across the state. Preconception health initiatives reached roughly 15,000 women, and public awareness of prematurity and infant-mortality risk factors climbed.
By 2009, the rates began to decline. By 2011, DHMIC had a clinical arm and a review structure to keep the work moving.
- ~15,000
- women of reproductive age reached through preconception health initiatives
2011
The Maternal Mortality Review Committee is established under the Administrative Courts.
2013 / Expanding Access to Care
Programs Reach the Communities That Need Them Most
The DEThrives website launched to spread evidence-based messaging. Statewide education expanded on safe sleep, reproductive life planning, and breastfeeding.
The Healthy Women, Healthy Babies program grew its outreach, focused squarely on racial and geographic disparities.
- 9%
- less likely to deliver a low birth weight baby
- 15%
- less likely to deliver a preterm baby
Long Live Dreams
A two-pronged safe-sleep campaign whose materials remain among the most-requested by partners and providers.
Source: Healthy Women, Healthy Babies Evaluation 2010-2013, Delaware Division of Public Health.
2015 / Communities Unite
Collective Impact
DHMIC launched a Collective Impact approach to infant mortality reduction. Cross-sector collaboration expanded across health care systems, community organizations, and public health agencies.
Community-level strategies began targeting the highest-risk populations directly.
- Health care systems
- Community organizations
- Public health agencies
2017-2019 / Innovation Becomes Law
Maternal Health, Written Into the Statute
The Delaware Perinatal Quality Collaborative was formally codified in state law. Hospitals began implementing AIM safety bundles, and place-based initiatives reached high-risk zones through mini-grants.
Preconception health and the fight against racial disparities only intensified.
2017
DPQC codified into Delaware law
2019
AIM safety bundles roll out across birthing hospitals
2020 / A Record Low
Delaware Records Its Lowest-Ever Infant Mortality Rate
Healthy Women, Healthy Babies 2.0 was implemented, the public-facing DEThrives platform expanded, and DE CAN drove a 17% increase in intended pregnancies.
- 6.5
- infant deaths per 1,000 live births
- 494
- cribs provided to families through Cribs for Kids
- +17%
- increase in pregnancy intention via DE CAN
- Josie’s Grace
- Westside Family Healthcare
- Nemours Lactation
- Black Maternal Health Week
2022-2024 / Bold Policy
Delaware Turns Commitment Into Law and Income
Policy changes expanded postpartum access, strengthened racial-disparity work, and connected high-risk families to practical support for food, transportation, and basic needs.
2022
Postpartum Medicaid coverage extended to 12 months after pregnancy through a state plan amendment.
2023
Momnibus legislation passes the Delaware General Assembly. Medicaid reimbursement for doula care is introduced.
2024
A Guaranteed Basic-Income pilot supports high-risk individuals and reports a 324% return on investment.
2025-2026 / The Whole Family
Advancing Perinatal Mental Health
House Concurrent Resolution 82 directs a comprehensive statewide report on perinatal mental health services, gaps, and workforce needs, integrating maternal mental health into the systems of care.
Meanwhile, the Home Visiting Program keeps growing and connecting families with support at home.
- 1,426
- Delaware families served in 2025
- 1,375
- children served in 2025
- 14,138
- home visits provided in 2025
Years of Impact
Across the board, the work has consistently improved the health of women and babies in Delaware.
- 5.4per 1,000
- infant deaths per 1,000 live births, down from 9.3 in 2005
- 36.2%
- drop in infant mortality since the work began
- 6th to 22nd
- highest infant mortality rate in the nation, a dramatic fall
Community, Togetherness & Accomplishments
Behind Every Number, a Person
Photos captured at DHMIC Summits and community events across Delaware. Live event drawings illustrated by artist Yen Azzaro.
Every Baby Deserves a First Birthday
The Delaware Healthy Mother & Infant Consortium continues its work with every partner, program, and community that made 20 years of progress possible.
Sources: National Center for Health Statistics; Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Public Health, Delaware Health Statistics Center; Maternal and Child Death Review Commission (2025).