10-07-2025 8:20am

Washtenaw County Health Department Reports on Immigrant and Maternal Infant Health

Ypsilanti PressLLC Editor

Washtenaw County Health Department Shares New Reports on Immigrant and Maternal and Infant Health

August 2025

The Washtenaw County Health Department (WCHD) is releasing two new reports: a Washtenaw County Immigrant Health Assessment and a Maternal and Infant Health Report.

“These reports provide critical information about the health of our community,” says Jimena Loveluck, MSW, health officer. “They help guide our work in these areas and sharing them provides data, support, and recommendations to assist others in our community serving immigrants, mothers, and babies.”

The Washtenaw County Immigrant Health Assessment takes an in-depth look at the health concerns of local immigrant community members through interviews and focus groups with service providers and immigrants. It also includes a literature review and demographic analysis. There is a Summary document available as well as the full Assessment.

The Maternal and Infant Health Report highlights birth and fertility trends, infant mortality rates, low birth weight data, and gestational diabetes data between 2017 and 2022, with a particular look at the changes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Washtenaw County Immigrant Health Assessment

The Assessment was completed in 2023 and 2024 and included twelve focus groups, seven key informant interviews, a literature review, and a demographic analysis. Nonprofit and County staff members, health care providers, and immigrant community members participated in focus groups and interviews.

Assessment themes are consistent with the 2023 countywide Community Health Assessment priorities: Health Care Access and Navigation; Mental Health; and Access to Healthy Foods. Additional themes include language and cultural barriers, economic challenges, and legal support needs. Importantly, many of these challenges also impact U.S. born community members.

“Federal changes and anti-immigration policies may worsen conditions for many community members and may impact immigrants and people of color especially hard,” says Ruth Kraut, MPH, deputy health officer. “We’re optimistic that this report will provide the data, recommendations, and impetus to maintain or expand critical, accessible support where most needed. We want to ensure immigrants are welcome in Washtenaw County.”

Maternal and Infant Health Report

The Maternal and Infant Health Report presents data over multiple years (2017-2022), examining the potential impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on pregnancy and birth outcomes.

“The report spotlights the continuous work of public health to provide needed resources to communities who are often marginalized or without appropriate access,” says Nifiah Reid-Sanders, MHA, BSN, RN, director of nursing. “This underscores the need to ensure that all families have access services like WIC and the Maternal Infant Health Program that support health.”

Findings include increasing maternal age and falling birth and fertility rates. The infant mortality rate racial gap widened and was 3.5 times higher among Black or African Americans from 2020-2022 than among whites. Additional topics examined include low birth weight rates, preterm births, tobacco use and pregnancy, and gestational diabetes.