Hospitals earn spot on Maternity Care Honor Roll

Loma Linda University Children’s Hospital and Medical Center – Murrieta made California Health and Human Services’ and Cal Hospital Compare’s 2021 Maternity Honor Roll. The list recognizes 124 California hospitals that met or surpassed the statewide target aimed at reducing births via Cesarean section (C-section) in first-time mothers with low-risk pregnancies.

“Caring for the mothers and babies of the Inland Empire is our top priority,” said Peter Baker, senior vice president and administrator for LLU Children’s Hospital. “Our care teams are dedicated to ongoing quality care to ensure positive outcomes and happy, healthy families.”

Jonathan Jean-Marie, senior vice president and administrator for LLUMC – Murrieta, echoed Baker’s remarks.

“While even faced with the most trying year we’ve ever seen, it’s an honor to receive this recognition,” Jean-Marie said. “This honor goes out to every healthcare provider on the frontlines dedicated to keeping mothers and babies healthy and safe.”

This year’s award reflects hospital discharge and birth certificate data throughout 2020 from 208 California hospitals that offer maternity services and participate in the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative’s Maternal Data Center. Almost two-thirds of hospitals that offer maternity services in the state made the list, and all hospitals on the 2021 Maternity Honor Roll demonstrate that collaborative action can lead to positive change.

Evidence suggests that the hospital where a woman delivers and practice patterns of her obstetric team will impact the likelihood of having a C-section. Even for low-risk, first-birth pregnancies, huge variations are noted in C-section rates at individual hospitals. In California, hospitals these rates range from less than 12% to more than 30%.

Overuse of C-sections matters. For mothers, cesareans can result in higher rates of complications like hemorrhage, transfusions, infection, and blood clots. Once a mother has had a C-section, she has more than a 90% chance of having one again for subsequent births, leading to higher risks of additional major complications. The surgery also brings risks for babies, including higher rates of infection, respiratory complications, and neonatal intensive care unit stays.

More information on maternity services available at LLUMC – Murrieta is available here.

Information about maternity services at LLU Children’s Hospital is also available online.