CINCINNATI (April 16, 2025) – The Christ Hospital Health Network is now Mama Certified, a first-of-its-kind certification that highlights hospitals that are advancing maternal health equity for Black families in Hamilton County. The Mt. Auburn location is certified in Maternal Care, Infant Care and Community Care, which recognizes efforts to strengthen community partnerships and address the social drivers of maternal and infant health.
Developed in partnership with Cradle Cincinnati, The Health Collaborative, Queens Village and local Black mothers, Mama Certified is designed to provide Black parents-to-be with a meaningful way to assess and understand the maternal health-related initiatives of Hamilton County’s hospital networks. Black moms are 2.5 times more likely to die during childbirth and nearly three times more likely to experience infant loss in Ohio than any other race, regardless of education and socioeconomic factors.
"Our team has worked diligently to improve mortality rates for Black parents when it comes to childbirth in Hamilton County,” said Leanne Olshavsky, MD, Director of Women’s Health at The Christ Hospital Health Network. “The Mama Certified distinction underscores our dedication to providing the best outcomes for all new mothers and their children. This certification program further encourages and advocates for increased hospital efforts to ensure that Black moms and their babies receive quality care and exceptional outcomes.”
Under Mama Certified, health systems are assessed across four categories: Infant Care, Maternal Care, Staff Care and Community Care. Notable initiatives include:
•Earning a four-star designation from Ohio First Steps for Healthy Breastfeeding and hosting breastfeeding classes and support groups to help moms reach their feeding goals
•Implementing safety bundles for managing hemorrhage and severe hypertension/preeclampsia developed in collaboration with the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health (AIM)
•Connecting patients with a team of social workers to conduct screenings and address the social drivers of health
“Giving birth is one of the most special rites of passage in our collective human experience, and access to the best care possible during this time is a human right,” said Meredith C. Smith, MD, Cradle Cincinnati Executive Director. “We are grateful to our Mama Certified member hospitals for the steps they have taken to improve the birthing experience for Black families. Their continued dedication to this work is a promise to Black mothers: we are listening, and we are committed to creating change.”
The Christ Hospital has also launched a Queens Village Hospital Advisory Board, which brings together hospital leaders and Black women from the community to co-design solutions for improving maternal and infant care. Comprehensive reports detailing maternal and infant health data, alongside improvement plans for the network, are available for the public to review at its website. You can also find more information on The Christ Hospital Health Network’s maternal health by clicking here.
About The Christ Hospital Health Network
The Christ Hospital Health Network consists of an acute care hospital located in Mt. Auburn, a remote hospital location in Liberty Township, eight ambulatory outpatient centers and dozens of medical offices throughout the region. For 135 years, The Christ Hospital has provided compassionate care to those it serves. Made up for more than 1,300 physicians and more than 7,200 team members, our mission is to improve the health of our community by providing exceptional outcomes in an affordable way. The Network was recognized by U.S. News & World Report as the #1 hospital in the Cincinnati Region and named to Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals list in 2025.