Maternity Care
Having a baby is one of life’s most exciting experiences, but the type of care received in the hospital can vary greatly. Women and families should use Leapfrog's Hospital Survey results to consider which hospital they’d like to use for their child’s delivery.
In addition to the five measures that Leapfrog scores and publicly reports, Leapfrog believes additional information about the maternity care services that a hospital offers may be helpful for patient decision-making. To help inform those that will be delivering a baby, Leapfrog publicly reports on whether a hospital offers the following maternity care services:
- Certified nurse-midwives for delivery
- Doulas for labor and delivery
- Breastfeeding/lactation consultants
- Vaginal birth after cesarean section (VBAC)
- Postpartum tubal ligation during the labor and delivery admission
Leapfrog also publicly reports on whether a hospital has a policy in place to protect women and newborns from early elective deliveries, which are scheduled cesarean sections or medical inductions prior to 39 completed weeks of gestation, which are known to cause serious complications.