Cradle Indy officially launched its bold new initiative to combat infant mortality in Indianapolis with an event titled “ONE: A Night to Win the Fight Against Infant Mortality.”
Held July 16 at VisionLoft Stutz, the launch brought together nearly 100 health professionals, doulas, community advocates and families to commit to one shared goal: ensuring more babies in Marion County live to see their first birthday. The event marked a renewed, city-wide effort to address one of the most urgent and devastating public health crises in the state.
Infant mortality continues to plague Indiana at alarming rates.
In 2023, 524 babies died before their first birthday, more than 40 per month. While the state’s infant mortality rate has seen a small improvement, dropping from 7.2 to 6.5 deaths per 1,000 live births, Indiana still ranks among the worst in the country. Marion County is particularly hard-hit, with six of the state’s poorest-performing ZIP codes in infant mortality clustered within its borders.
The crisis is even more severe among Black families. Black infants in Indiana die at more than twice the rate of white infants, 14.1 compared to 5.6 per 1,000 live births. In Indianapolis, Black mothers and babies remain disproportionately affected by gaps in care, access and support.
Cradle Indy’s mission is to change that.
Through partnerships with health systems, the Marion County Public Health Department and dozens of community organizations, the initiative is working to build a connected, city-led care system focused on support, prevention and equity. Cradle Indy’s strategy includes coordinated home visits for pregnant people, doula and lactation support, help with Medicaid and WIC benefits, nutrition resources and connections to safe housing and transportation. The organization specifically targets neighborhoods most impacted by infant mortality, including 46218, 46201 and 46219.
At the launch, personal stories underscored the life-and-death stakes of the issue.
Shaunquia Chitty, a new mother from Indianapolis’s east side, described experiencing postpartum preeclampsia and said her doula’s quick thinking helped save her life. Her testimony reflected a central theme of the event: that trusted, culturally competent support during pregnancy and postpartum can make the difference between survival and tragedy. Doulas, lactation consultants and community birth workers were celebrated as essential partners in improving outcomes, particularly for Black mothers.
Cradle Indy is modeled after a similar initiative in Cincinnati, where coordinated investments and community leadership reduced infant deaths by more than 30% in targeted areas.
Executive Director Nicole Carey said the Indianapolis program aims to replicate that success through long-term investment and accountability.
“Cradle Indy will mobilize a city-wide village of support,” Carey said. “Many of you are in this room now, so that every baby in Indianapolis can celebrate their first birthday.”
Political challenges still threaten progress. Though Indiana passed a 2019 law to reimburse doulas through Medicaid, it has yet to provide the funding needed to implement it. State Sen. Andrea Hunley, who attended the launch, said efforts to pass legislation supporting doula services and stillbirth prevention failed again this year.
IU Health CEO Dennis Murphy reminded attendees that no one is immune — not even those with access to high-quality care. He shared the story of Dr. Chaniece Wallace, a chief resident at IU Health and a new mother who died in 2020 from postpartum complications.
“She wasn’t just a doctor,” Murphy said. “She was one of our best. She was a chief resident, and even she needed help.”
Wallace’s death served as a sobering reminder that maternal and infant health disparities are rooted not just in individual behavior or income, but in deeply entrenched systems of inequity.
Cradle Indy began building its framework in 2022 with more than 100 stakeholders and funding from a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services community projects grant. The work ahead includes expanding access to home visits, increasing support for community birth workers and advocating for state and federal investment.
With continued partnerships and political will, organizers believe Marion County can achieve what once seemed impossible: ending preventable infant deaths.
The launch of Cradle Indy is not just a program announcement, it’s a declaration of urgency and a call to action. In a state where more than 500 infants died last year and where Black babies are more than twice as likely to die before their first birthday, the stakes could not be higher.
Tamara Winfrey-Harris, president of Women’s Fund of Central Indiana, summarized how important this work is and will be to the city.
“When women thrive, their families thrive, including their babies, and our communities thrive,” Winfrey-Harris said.
For more information and to support the work of Cradle Indy, visit cradleindy.org.
This reporting is made possible by a grant from the Indianapolis African-American Quality of Life Initiative, empowering our community with essential health insights. https://iaaqli.org/
Contact Health & Environmental Reporter Hanna Rauworth at 317-762-7854 or follow her on Instagram at @hanna.rauworth.
Hanna Rauworth is the Health & Environmental Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper, where she covers topics at the intersection of public health, environmental issues, and community impact. With a commitment to storytelling that informs and empowers, she strives to highlight the challenges and solutions shaping the well-being of Indianapolis residents.
