ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A report from the Leapfrog Group shows that Regions Hospital has one of the lowest rates in the nation for delivering babies before 39 weeks unless it is medically necessary. The Leapfrog Group is a non-profit organization that compares hospitals on safety and quality.
Until recently, babies born after 37 weeks of gestation were considered full-term. Research shows that important development takes place to a baby’s brain and lungs during the last few weeks of pregnancy. New guidelines recommend waiting until the 39th week to deliver a baby. Fewer than 40 percent of hospitals met Leapfrog’s target rate of five percent or less for elective deliveries between 37 and 39 weeks. Regions rate was one percent.
Medical risks of early delivery
According to research from
the March of Dimes, the National Institutes of Health, the US Food and
Drug Administration and others the risks associated with early
deliveries include:
- Interrupted brain development. A baby’s brain at 35 weeks weighs two-thirds of what it weighs at 39 or 40 weeks. Elective early delivery of an infant can potentially have long-term effects including cognitive and emotional regulation difficulties.
- Breathing problems. Severe respiratory complications can require ventilation.
- Longer hospital stays. More babies born before 39 weeks can have medical complications that require in-hospital treatment.
- Increased risk of death. The risk of death more than doubles for infants born at 37 weeks of pregnancy, when compared to babies born at 40 weeks, for all races and ethnicities.
Early deliveries also have more risks to mothers. These include a chance that induction may not work and require a c-section. C-sections require longer hospital stays and recovery times and carry risks including infection. Babies born by c-section may have more breathing and other medical problems than babies born by vaginal birth.
More than 750 hospitals provided data for the report. Out of 38 targeted hospitals in Minnesota, Regions was one of four that voluntarily reported their rates.
Potential savings: $1 billion per year
Leapfrog
estimates that the U.S. could reduce medical costs by $1 billion per
year if all hospitals reduced their rate of early elective deliveries to
1.7 percent.