The Tennessee Hospital Association announced 37 Tennessee hospitals reduced early elective deliveries — those that occur before 39 weeks — by 75 percent in seven months.
Preventable early deliveries at 37 Tennessee hospitals accounted for 14.1 percent of all deliveries at the end of May 2012. By the end of the year, early deliveries accounted for only 3.5 percent of all deliveries, according to the news release.
The decrease is a result of Healthy Tennessee Babies are Worth the Wait, a partnership between the Tennessee Center for Patient Safety, Tennessee Initiative for Perinatal Quality Care, Tennessee Department of Health, March of Dimes and Tennessee Hospital Association. The partnership aims to raise awareness of the benefits of full-term delivery and encourages hospitals to implement policies to reduce deliveries before 39 weeks unless there is a medical risk to the mother or child.
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