UVA rated in top 1 percent nationally for maternity care

University of Virginia Women’s Services and UVA Children’s Hospital were among just 1 percent of reporting U.S. hospitals to meet all four maternity care standards from the Leapfrog Group, a national patient safety organization.

Leapfrog’s standards for hospitals include:

• 5 percent or fewer early elective deliveries, defined as delivering a baby before the 39^th week of a pregnancy except to protect the health of the mother or the baby. According to Leapfrog and other national organizations including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the March of Dimes, babies born through an early elective delivery have a higher risk of complications.
• 5 percent or fewer episiotomies, which are incisions made to widen the birth canal. Episiotomies can lead to health problems for new mothers, said Leapfrog, such as loss of bladder control or pelvic floor disorders.
• 23.9 percent or fewer cesarean deliveries (among first-time mothers delivering a single full-term baby). Cesareans come with an increased risk of complications for both mothers and babies.
• Appropriate experience with high-risk deliveries. Leapfrog’s standards include delivering at least 50 very-low birth weight babies (less than 3 lbs.) each year and provide antenatal steroids (to help pre-term babies survive and develop) to at least 80 percent of mothers at risk for an early delivery.

“We’re pleased to be recognized by Leapfrog for meeting these standards, which highlights our team’s dedication to providing the highest-quality care for both low-risk and high-risk pregnancies,” said James (Jef) Ferguson, MD, MBA, chair of UVA’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

This is the second honor UVA has earned recently for its maternity care, said Christian Chisholm, MD, UVA’s medical director of Labor and Delivery. UVA has also received a five-star designation from the Virginia Maternity Center Breastfeeding-Friendly Designation Program for its efforts to support breastfeeding.

About UVA Children’s Hospital and UVA Women’s Services

University of Virginia Children’s Hospital and UVA Women’s Services provide primary and specialty care in more than 30 specialties to women and children throughout Virginia. UVA Children’s Hospital includes a hospital-within-a-hospital at UVA Medical Center with 111 beds, a dedicated pediatric emergency department, a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for infants, and a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for children younger than 10.

The Battle Building, which opened in 2014, consolidates outpatient children’s care at a single location in Charlottesville. UVA Women’s Services team of doctors, nurses and certified nurse midwives provide comprehensive care for women, including infertility, prolapse and incontinence, gynecological cancer, pregnancy and delivery, menopause and osteoporosis. Maternal-fetal medicine care is provided at the Battle Building and throughout Virginia.