McLeod Medical Center Dillon is partnering with the March of Dimes to lower the number of babies born too soon at their hospital.

McLeod Dillon is among a select group of 100 hospitals nationwide selected by the March of Dimes to receive its Quality Improvement Service Package which instructs the hospital in creating and implementing policies to reduce medically unnecessary (elective) inductions and cesarean deliveries scheduled before 39 weeks of pregnancy.

"Every week of pregnancy is important to a baby’s health," says Scott Berns, MD, MPH, Senior Vice President and Deputy Medical Director for the March of Dimes. "I commend McLeod Dillon for being a champion for babies and through this partnership will help more babies go full-term if the pregnancy is healthy. Working together on this very important quality initiative, we believe McLeod Dillon will help us make significant strides in eliminating early elective deliveries."

"We’re proud to partner with the March of Dimes to give more babies a healthy start in life," said Pat Jones, Director of Women’s Services at McLeod Dillon. "And, we’re proud of our expert team of physicians and the work they are doing to educate patients regarding elective inductions or caesarean deliveries before 39 weeks of pregnancy."

The service package is part the March of Dimes "Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait®" campaign. Worldwide, 15 million babies are born too soon each year and more than one million of those infants die as a result of their early births. Babies who survive an early birth often face the risk of lifelong health challenges, such as breathing problems, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities and others. Even babies born just a few weeks early have higher rates of hospitalization and illness than full-term infants. Recent research by the March of Dimes, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found that although the overall threat is small, the risk of death more than doubles for infants born at 37 weeks of pregnancy, when compared to babies born at 40 weeks, for all races and ethnicities.

Through "Healthy Babies are Worth the Wait," March of Dimes is partnering with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists in a new federal program called "Strong Start" to raise awareness of the importance of a full term pregnancy.
The March of Dimes Quality Improvement Service Package includes professional and consumer education materials about the importance of a full term pregnancy and the critical development of the brain, lungs and other organs that occur during the last weeks of pregnancy.

Through the package, March of Dimes will support hospitals’ efforts to implement the steps needed to reduce elective deliveries prior to 39 weeks of pregnancy. Included in the service package are action-oriented guidance, data collection tools, Grand Rounds, access to national quality improvement experts and providers, and other support services to maximize a hospital’s success in attaining its quality improvement goals.

More information is available at: marchofdimes.com/39weeks and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6XcWBcaliA.

About March of Dimes

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health. With chapters nationwide and the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org. Find us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

About McLeod Dillon

With a strong history in the Dillon community since 1943, McLeod Dillon has continued to grow and expand to serve residents of Dillon (SC), Marion (SC) and Robeson (NC) counties with excellence in patient care. The Joint Commission accredited medical center employs 350 and has the strength of 100 physicians on its medical staff. McLeod Dillon offers general and orthopedic surgery, women’s services, emergency services, intensive care, rehabilitative services and cardiac rehabilitation. Investments in state of the art technology to improve patient care have included Open MRI, CT, nuclear study, digital mammography, 4D ultrasounds and vascular studies.