Baby Boom!: Virtua Health Set Record For Births In 2021
Virtua Health saw a 7 percent increase in the number of babies who were born between 2020 and 2021, the health system announced on Monday.
In fact, 2021 was a record-setting year for South Jersey’s largest health care network, with 9,109 babies born in the health system.
Virtua provides maternity services at three hospitals – Virtua Voorhees, Virtua Mount Holly (formerly known as Virtua Memorial), and Virtua Our Lady of Lourdes in Camden – as well as the new Midwifery Birth & Wellness Center, which opened in the fall.
The Midwifery Birth & Wellness Center is the only freestanding birth center in South Jersey. It offers a natural approach – known as physiologic labor and birth – in a setting designed to resemble the home. Read more here: Virtua Opens New Midwifery Birth & Wellness Center
The midwifery model of care is based on the philosophy that birth is a natural part of life, rather than a condition to be treated. The approach is holistic, wellness-based, and patient- and family-centered. Physiologic labor and birth is an option for women at low risk for pregnancy complications. It emphasizes a supported birthing process with less-invasive monitoring.
Facilitated by a certified nurse midwife, a licensed provider trained in nursing and midwifery, physiologic birth allows women to give birth spontaneously without an epidural or other obstetric intervention, unless medically necessary. Should medical intervention be necessary, the center’s location, adjacent to Virtua Voorhees Hospital, gives patients quick access to a full range of treatment and care options.
Virtua also assisted in the births of 79 babies born to displaced mothers from Afghanistan, who are currently living at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst and throughout South Jersey. Officials project that approximately 25 Afghan babies will be born at Virtua hospitals each month in 2022.
All of these births occurred during the coronavirus pandemic and under safety measures designed to keep tiny patients and their families safe, officials said.
Virtua was recognized by U.S. News & World Report this year on its inaugural list of Best Hospitals for Maternity Care. This list includes 237 high-performing hospitals across the United States. Read more here: Virtua Hospitals Recognized For Maternity Care
Virtua has enacted strict protocols over the last several years that have significantly lowered C-section and episiotomy rates, provided for the rapid treatment of hypertensive patients, and provided risk assessments for a patient’s potential for hemorrhage.
All of Virtua’s maternity staff members—physicians, laborists, and nurses—are involved in decision-making processes and the development of protocols, which benefits the staff as well as their patients.
“The education and engagement of all team members is critical to our care delivery model. This inclusion results in a comprehensive and collaborative approach to patient care,” Virtua Vice President of Clinical Operations for Women’s Health Nicole Lamborne said. “We welcome the input of our nurses, who play a vital role in how patients are managed and improves maternal outcomes. The entire team needs to have the same level of engagement for a successful result.”
To learn more about maternity services at Virtua, visit virtua.org/services/maternity.
This article originally appeared on the Cinnaminson Patch
