ChristianaCare campus ranked among nation’s best maternity hospitals

ChristianaCare’s Center for Women’s & Children’s Health helped it achieve a top ranking in the Newsweek/Leapfrog listing. | PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRISTIANACARE

CHRISTIANA – ChristianaCare was ranked as one of the nation’s Best Maternity Hospitals by Newsweek magazine and Leapfrog, a national nonprofit organization that reports on the safety and quality performance of U.S. health care facilities.

“At ChristianaCare, we are guided by our values, love and excellence, and we have filled the Center for Women’s & Children’s Health with both,” ChristianaCare President and CEO Dr. Janice E. Nevin said. “This recognition by Newsweek is a testament to the expert care that our caregivers provide to more than 6,000 babies and their families each year. We’ve continued to deliver that great care — even during the COVID-19 pandemic, as we opened one of the most advanced facilities in the country for women and children. We are transforming care in the communities we serve.”

A panel of medical and nursing experts identified hospitals with low rates of C-section, episiotomy and early elective deliveries, and that follow crucial protocols to protect mothers and babies. Of the 231 hospitals selected for the honor, ChristianaCare is among the top five delivering hospitals by volume, delivering more than 6,000 babies annually.

ChristianaCare recently opened the Center for Women’s & Children’s Health, an eight-story, approximately 400,000-square-foot tower at Christiana Hospital, at ChristianaCare’s Newark campus.

The center is designed to support and enhance the most up-to-date, evidence-based models of care, with improved integration of services and the space to offer innovative patient-centered care for mothers, babies and families.

One of the most significant features of the new center is a state-of-the-art neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), featuring private rooms with sleep-in space for families. It’s one of the only hospitals in the United States to provide “couplet care” in the NICU, keeping the mother and baby together even if they both require medical care.

Other innovative features at the center include:

• New and expanded labor and delivery suites.
• Private rooms for mothers and families after delivery.
• A spacious, multi-level Ronald McDonald Room to support families with infants who are in intensive care.
• Expanded OB/GYN emergency services area and new labor lounge.
• Separate admitting and discharge areas for the convenience of our patients.
• A tranquil family rooftop garden that provides spaces for play and relaxation.
• Vibrant sibling play spaces with interactive displays and artwork, and open community.

The center is also designed to support ChristianaCare’s focus on wellness and on reducing the serious and complex problems of infant mortality, neonatal abstinence syndrome, maternal mortality and post-partum depression.