Milwaukee Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families Collaborative

United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County was selected by Wisconsin Partnership Program (WPP) at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health to lead its Lifecourse Initiative for Healthy Families (LIHF) in Milwaukee with a 5-year grant (2014-2019), which allowed United Way to expand its efforts to reduce Milwaukee’s infant mortality rate.

This innovative community-academic collaboration was designed to improve community conditions that lead to healthier birth outcomes among African American families in Beloit, Kenosha, Milwaukee, and Racine. Learn more about the regional initiative’s strategies and local data related to priority areas by visiting the regional LIHF website.

Locally this collaborative worked to ensure Milwaukee had a sustainable community collaborative that contributes to the elimination of racial disparities in healthy birth outcomes. United Way convened leaders from the affected communities, business, nonprofit, faith community, and public sectors to address the issue.

Action Agenda
Guided by the Community Action Plan and informed by data, Milwaukee LIHF’s primary focus was to prevent the leading cause of infant deaths: complications of prematurity. In support of this focus, the goal was to advance local and state policies and practices around three priority areas:

• Increasing awareness around the importance of pregnancy intendedness and birth spacing, because close-interval pregnancies are a key driver of pre-term births
• Supporting mental and physical preparedness for pregnancy, because unmanaged chronic conditions are a key driver of pre-term births
• Improving social and economic conditions for communities at highest risk, because the chronic stress of economic insecurity, housing instability and other social factors create physiologic changes that increase the risk of pre-term births

LIHF Steering Committee

The Steering Committee is responsible for advancing the direction, activities, and strategy of the Collaborative.

Collaborative Reports

• Educate and Advocate for Infant Mortality Reduction
• 2017 Report to the Community
• 2016 Policy Briefing
• One Key Question Pilot Final Report
• One Key Question Pilot Summary

Community Media Efforts
Strong Baby Campaign - This grassroots campaign was designed to engage the community in the crucial conversation around the importance of changing the conditions that can lead to stronger babies. The Strong Baby Facebook page and Strong Baby website provide information to individuals and a space for people to share information and ideas.