Leonardtown, Maryland (July 13, 2015) – MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital (MSMH) recently received two awards for their work to give more babies a healthy start in life. March of Dimes, a foundation aimed at helping mothers to have full term and healthy babies, awarded the hospital with its 39 weeks banner on behalf of its reduced number of elective inductions and cesarean deliveries performed before 39 completed weeks of pregnancy.
The most urgent infant health problem in the U.S. today is premature birth. It affects more than 450,000 babies each year and is the leading cause of death for children under the age of five. In Maryland, 8,914 babies are born too soon every year. The banner program is a component of the March of Dimes “Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait” campaign, which urges women to wait for labor to begin on its own if their pregnancy is healthy, rather than scheduling delivery before 39 completed weeks of pregnancy.
“The last weeks of pregnancy are important. Babies aren’t just putting on weight. They are undergoing important development of the brain, lungs and other vital organs,” said Scott Berns, MD, MPH, Senior Vice President and Deputy Medical Director for the March of Dimes. “I commend MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital for being a champion for babies with their quality improvement effort.”
MedStar St. Mary’s also received a five-star rating for C-section deliveries in 2015 through Healthgrades, a free online service offering information about physicians and hospitals. The C-section ratings are based on outcomes for single, twins or triplets delivered via C-section in addition to the quality of the mother’s care during her hospital stay. Women delivering at a hospital receiving a five-star Healthgrades rating for C-sections have a lower chance of experiencing complications compared to a hospital receiving one star.
In addition, MSMH has received the Patient Safety Excellence Award, which recognizes hospitals for how well it prevents infections, medical errors, and other complications, for the past three years through Healthgrades. Both Healthgrades awards hold significant value, as more than one million people use the Healthgrades websites daily to search, compare and connect with hospitals and physicians.