Four Iowa hospitals, including one in Des Moines, have been named among the best hospitals for obstetric care in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.
U.S. News analyzed 817 hospitals across the United States on seven metrics: cesarean section rates, unexpected severe neonatal complications, breastfeeding, regular vaginal deliveries and episiotomy after cesarean section, and hospital Track and report outcomes for patients of different races and ethnicities as they meet new federal standards for “birth-friendly” practices.
Only half of the hospitals rated were recognized as among the best for obstetric care.
The U.S. News assessment focuses only on uncomplicated pregnancies and not high-risk pregnancies, such as mothers with diabetes or high blood pressure or mothers pregnant with twins.
“Hospitals recognized by U.S. News as Best Hospitals for Obstetric Care provide exceptional care to expectant parents,” Jennifer Winston, health data scientist at U.S. News, said in a news release. said. “These hospitals have been demonstrated to have significantly lower C-section rates and unexpected and severe neonatal complications compared to hospitals not recognized by U.S. News.”
Which Iowa hospital was named best in obstetric care by U.S. News?
Hospitals in Iowa City, Mason City, and Cedar Rapids receive high marks for minimizing avoidable C-sections, with less than 24% of C-sections associated with first, low-risk, full-term pregnancies. did.
MercyOne Des Moines had a lower rate of serious neonatal complications than three other hospitals with average rates of complications, according to U.S. News. Serious neonatal complications occur when a full-term newborn with normal birth weight and no pre-existing medical conditions is injured or develops an infection.
According to US News, the median hospitalization rate for severe neonatal complications is 13 per 1,000 live births.
MercyOne Des Moines, Mercy Medical Center Cedar Rapids, and University of Iowa HealthCare Medical Center all have episiotomy rates of less than 5%. Episiotomy, a surgical cut made to the perineum perineum Routine use is not recommended during childbirth except in specific clinical cases.
The national and Midwest averages for infants exclusively breastfed during hospitalization are 49% and 51%, respectively. Hospitals in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and Mason City beat these averages, with Mercy Medical Center Cedar Rapids having the highest rate at 81%.
Details: This Des Moines hospital is rated 5 stars by CMS. How does it compare to others?
Which other Midwestern hospital has been named an outstanding hospital for obstetric care by U.S. News?
The following are hospitals recognized as having high performance in obstetric care in states adjacent to Iowa.
Cooper Worth is a services/trends reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact me at cworth@gannett.com or follow me at X @CooperAWorth.