Allina Health and Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota Celebrate Grand Opening of The Mother Baby Center

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott Northwestern Hospital, part of Allina Health and home to Minnesota's largest obstetrical center, and Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, which features the largest neonatal program in the region, announced today their Feb. 4 grand opening of The Mother Baby Center – the only birth center of its kind in Minnesota and one of only a few in the country.

Located on 26th St. between Chicago and 10th avenues, The Mother Baby Center is a new four story, 96,000-square-foot building nestled between Abbott Northwestern and Children's with a skyway that connects the two. The new state-of-the-art facility will have capacity for 5,000 births each year and will offer a comprehensive approach to care, beginning at prenatal care and continuing through obstetrics, perinatology, labor and delivery, neonatology and pediatrics.

"Every delivery is unique, just as the wants and needs of expecting families are unique – some women desire a traditional birth, some want an alternative experience such as a water birth, and others require high-end specialty care for themselves or their baby," said Penny Wheeler, MD, chief clinical officer of Allina Health and a practicing obstetrician. "Our goal at The Mother Baby Center is to support every mother, baby and family in a state-of-the-art facility, surrounded by  incredibly talented and compassionate doctors, nurses and caregivers all committed to providing a positive and life-changing experience."

The Mother Baby Center will also encompass expanded services of the four-year-old Midwest Fetal Care Center, a joint program between Allina Health, Children's and various subspecialty groups. The Midwest Fetal Care Center is one of a few like facilities in the U.S. that performs delicate and complex interventions for unborn babies, such as laser ablation and open fetal procedures to treat life-threatening abnormalities such as mylomeningocle, twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, fetal tumors and diaphragmatic hernia.

"While Abbott Northwestern and Children's have been collaborating successfully for years to support moms and babies, The Mother Baby Center improves our ability to provide comprehensive care and exceptional outcomes across the maternal-fetal continuum," said Alan L. Goldbloom, MD, president and chief executive officer of Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota. "Because of its unique location on Children's campus, babies born prematurely or with critical health needs will have immediate access to the nation's best pediatric experts."

The Mother Baby Center is a modern response to address the growing incidence of high-risk pregnancies, preterm births and other trends and conditions that were less frequent or less treatablewhen Abbott Northwestern and Children's built their connecting tunnel 40 years ago, such as:

• Older mothers: Women are increasingly having babies at age 40 and older, which raises the risk of birth defects and pregnancy complications.¹
• More chronic health problems: More mothers have medical problems, such as obesity or diabetes, which put them and their babies at risk for complications.²
• Multiples: Often the result of infertility treatment, multiples are more likely to be premature and to have health problems.³
• Overall increase in pregnancy complications: Annually, more than $1 billion is spent on hospitalizations related to pregnancy complications.⁴

The Mother Baby Center will also have live telemedicine capabilities, or virtual technology, to advise providers at other birth centers in the region. In addition, through the new integrated care model and infrastructure, Abbott Northwestern and Children's clinicians will be able to work together seamlessly, share best practices and build upon the learnings of each and every patient.

For more information about The Mother Baby Center, visit themotherbabycenter.org

About Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota

Serving as Minnesota's children's hospital since 1924, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota is one of the largest pediatric health care organizations in the United States, with 381 staffed beds at its two hospitals in St. Paul and Minneapolis. An independent, not-for-profit health care system, Children's of Minnesota provides care through more than 12,000 inpatient visits and more than 200,000 emergency room and other outpatient visits every year. Children's is the only Minnesota hospital system to provide comprehensive care exclusively to children. Please visit childrensMN.org.

About Allina Health

Allina Health (formerly Allina Hospitals & Clinics) is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of illness and enhancing the greater health of individuals, families and communities throughout Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Allina Health cares for patients from beginning to end-of-life through its 90+ clinics, 11 hospitals, 15 pharmacies, specialty care centers and specialty medical services that provide hospice care, oxygen and home medical equipment, and emergency medical services. Learn more at allinahealth.org.

¹ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Delayed Childbearing: More Women Are Having Their First Child Later in Life, 2011. Available at: www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db21.pdf

² Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), Women and Health Care: A National Profile, 2004. Available at: www.kff.org/womenshealth/upload/women-and-Health-Care-A-National-Profile-Key-Findings-from-the-Kaiser-Women-s-Health-Survey-Report-Highlights.pdf

³ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Coalition for Health Statistics (NCHS) Data Brief, 2012. Available at: www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db80.pdf

⁴ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Hospitalizations related to childbirth, 2003

SOURCE Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota