First Lady Murphy Partners with Ireland’s Centre for Maternal and Child Health to Improve Equality of Childbirth in NJ

New Jersey First Lady Tammy Murphy and the Chief Executive Officer of the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) visited the Irish Centre for Maternal and Child Health Research (known as INFANT) on Tuesday.

The visit included the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the NJEDA and INFANT which establishes collaboration through the sharing of research findings, clinical work, and best practices that will support efforts to advance health outcomes of mothers and infants.

The First Lady and members of a New Jersey delegation to Ireland visited INFANT to gather information as the Garden State works to launch a Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center in Trenton, NJ. The center aims to make New Jersey the safest and most equitable state in the U.S.A. to deliver and raise a baby.

“The INFANT Centre is tackling maternal and infant health issues in a creative and innovative way,” said First Lady Murphy. “Their model is something we can learn from as we develop the Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center in Trenton, and we hope INFANT can benefit from our experience as well. Our research center will continue the work of Nurture NJ and put New Jersey on the cutting edge of maternal health, helping us to not only solve our maternal health crisis in the Garden State, but making us a national leader in the field.”

New Jersey ranks 47th in the nation for maternal deaths and has one of the widest racial disparities for both maternal and infant mortality. A Black mother in New Jersey is over seven times more likely than a white mother to die from maternity-related complications, and a Black baby is over three times more likely than a white baby to die before the child’s first birthday.

In 2019, First Lady Murphy launched Nurture NJ in response to New Jersey’s need to improve access to care for expectant mothers and babies, with a commitment to both reducing maternal and infant mortality and morbidity and ensuring equitable care among women and children of all races and ethnicities.

“Last month, the NJEDA entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the John S. Watson Institute of Urban Policy and Research at Kean University to undertake an iterative community engagement process to further the development of the Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center. This process is designed to build trust and support from Trenton residents and organizational stakeholders, as well as understand the services needed to improve maternal and infant health outcomes for Trenton’s new and expectant mothers and children. The NJEDA has also expanded an existing contract with Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc. (JLL), enabling JLL to undertake the initial real estate planning for the Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center.” – Office of the Governor of New Jersey; Cork, Ireland

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