Beebe Healthcare ranks among best in nation for maternity care
Beebe Healthcare and the state of Delaware rank among the best in the nation when it comes to providing quality maternity care, according to the Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care survey completed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Nearly 1,000 babies are delivered at Beebe Healthcare each year. Each Beebe baby and his or her mother are treated to advanced maternity practices, including delayed cord clamping, delayed first bath, rooming-in for mother and infant, and practices that support a successful start to breastfeeding.
Beebe Healthcare is the first organization in Delaware to earn the international Baby-Friendly Hospital designation, launched as part of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative in 1991 by the World Health Organization and the United Nations Children's Fund. Beebe received the designation for its commitment to breastfeeding and evidence-based practices.
The recent mPINC survey by the Centers for Disease Control ranks Delaware as second in the nation, just behind Rhode Island. Delaware received perfect scores for breastfeeding education, lactation support and rooming-in, which is the practice of keeping moms and babies together in the same room throughout their stay.
Beebe's overall score on the mPINC survey was 96 percent, higher than the national average of 95 and higher than the Delaware average of 93.
Beebe received a subscore of 100 in the areas of Labor and Delivery Care, Postpartum Care - Breastfeeding, Postpartum Care - Breastfeeding Assistance, Postpartum Care - Contact Between Mother and Infant, and Structural and Organizational Aspects of Care Delivery. Beebe received a score of 88 in the areas of Facility Discharge Care and Staff Training.
"We are very proud of the care we provide here at Beebe! Our staff of nurses and medical providers are committed to providing the best care to our patients and their families, and this score is the best evidence of that," said Bridget Buckaloo, MSN, RNC-OB, executive director of women's health services at Beebe. "Without this commitment and dedication we would not have achieved this success. We are equally proud to celebrate Delaware's success with the other hospitals, and we congratulate all of them for this high achievement."
All facilities that provide intrapartum or maternity care in the United States are invited to participate in the mPINC survey. For the survey, go to www.cdc.gov/mpinc. For more information, go to www.beebehealthcare.org/womens-health.
