Bibb Medical Center in rural Bibb County, Alabama, has figured out a way not only to keep its emergency room open, but to transform itself into a thriving healthcare system. Their success comes at a time when rural hospitals are closing or in trouble across the country. Bibb may be a blueprint for other rural hospitals that could play an even bigger role in keeping their communities healthy. In this episode of the Health of America podcast, learn how Bibb Medical Center is beating the odds.

In 2009, when infant mortality rates were going down in most places, Baltimore’s infant mortality rate spiked to its highest ever. For white babies, the rate was 3.5 per 1000. For African American babies, 18. Black mothers were dying at higher rates, too. The city needed not just a new program, but a whole new approach to saving babies and keeping mothers healthy. That approach, called B'more for Healthy Babies, has saved lives. Now, as the initiative enters its second decade, there's new urgency to save mothers, too.

Rising rates of chronic disease before pregnancy mean women are facing more health risks while they’re pregnant and when they deliver. A new initiative led by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi is helping women get healthier first and working with hospitals to adopt new safety protocols.

Giving birth has been getting riskier for women in the United States.

The prevalence of conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes or obesity are some of the driving forces behind that increasing risk. They can turn dangerous – or even deadly -- before, during or after childbirth for mother and baby.

Reversing the trend will take partners across the healthcare system. Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Mississippi is taking the lead in a state where women face higher risks than in many other states.

In this episode of the Health of America podcast, we head to an OBGYN practice in Biloxi, Mississippi, where doctors are adding chronic condition management to their services. We’ll visit one of the state’s largest maternity wards to learn how doctors and nurses are training for pregnancy emergencies. And we’ll learn more from experts at Blue Cross & Blue Shield Mississippi about the statewide collaboration that’s saving lives and keeping women safer.