Newark’s University Hospital Recognized Among Nation’s Best Facilities for Maternal Care – TAPinto.net

NEWARK, NJ — A Newark hospital was recently lauded among the nation’s best health centers for maternal care by Newsweek.

University Hospital was recognized as one of the best maternity care hospitals for 2021. As one of only three hospitals in the state to be recognized for this year’s distinction alongside Ocean Medical Center in Brick and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in New Brunswick, this is the first time the city hospital has received the designation, which recognizes healthcare centers that have excelled in “providing quality care to mothers, newborns and their families.”

“Being included on Newsweek’s Best Maternity Care Hospitals list is quite a testament to our doctors, nurses and maternity staff, who work so hard to make sure every mother and newborn baby receives outstanding care,” said Shereef Elnahal, President and CEO of University Hospital. “Throughout 2020, urban hospitals that serve majority-minority communities have faced serious challenges in so many areas. At the same time, our maternity program has thrived and continued to serve expectant mothers throughout the public health emergency with high-quality care. 

“Our community values the fact that University Hospital is a safe and welcoming space for childbirth, and a safe destination for the essential care expectant mothers need leading up to the birth of their child and postpartum,” Elnahal said. 

Hospital officials reported that approximately 1,600 babies are born each year (about four births per day) at the hospital. 

University Hospital also hosts more than 24,000 prenatal patient visits per year and has a staff of 30 board-certified physicians from Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and experienced labor and delivery registered nurses to serve new mothers, babies, and their families.

The hospital even ranks among the lowest Cesarean-section rates of all hospitals in New Jersey, has the most successful rates of Vaginal Birth after Cesarean, in addition to having one of the lowest episiotomy rates in the state. 

It’s also the first and only healthcare center in Essex County to be designated as a “Baby Friendly Hospital” by Baby-Friendly USA, a global program of the World Health Organization and UNICEF. The program encourages mothers to nourish newborns with breast milk and promotes a rooming-in policy where babies can spend most of the time in moms’ hospital rooms to increase skin to skin contact, which is very important for the baby. This provides for ease of access to the baby for breastfeeding and promotes skin-to-skin contact.

Among UH’s various facilities, its Regional Perinatal Center is well-known for handling some of the state’s most complicated pregnancies and medically fragile newborns. The center offers services such as counseling for women with chronic health conditions, evaluation and prevention for moms at high risk for pre-term births, and care for pregnant women with significant high-risk medical problems like hypertension, heart disease, immunodeficiency conditions, substance use disorder, and diabetes. 

“The fact that we deliver healthy, beautiful babies with superb outcomes that exceed national benchmarks, truly illustrates that our interdisciplinary teams of doctors and nurses are committed to providing the highest level of care with a focus on the individual needs of our moms and babies,” said Lisa Gittens-Wiliams, Director of Obstetrics at University Hospital and Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Health at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.