First Baby InitiativeThe West Virginia Perinatal Partnership collaborated with the West Virginia Health Care Authority, March of Dimes-West Virginia Chapter, and 23 West Virginia hospitals in a project to improve health outcomes of first-time mothers and their babies. In 2011, under the leadership of maternal fetal medicine specialists Dr. Luis Bracero and Dr. William Holls, and obstetrician/gynecologist Dr. David C. Jude, members of the Partnership developed the First Baby Initiative to focus on reducing the number of Cesarean sections among first-time mothers. With funding from the Health Care Authority, the project took place between April 2011 and December 2012. Click here to review the report which details the project activities, findings, and recommendations for future steps.

West Virginia, like most of the United States and Canada, has seen a rise in the rate of elective primary Cesarean delivery and in elective labor induction, in part due to the widespread perception that these procedures are of little or no risk to healthy women. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Joint Commission, and other leading medical and health organizations have drawn attention to poor outcomes related to the unnecessary surgery, especially in first-time mothers.

For more information on the First Baby Initiative, review the related resources section on this page.

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