New Report on Maternity Care in the U.S. Shows Encouraging Progress Reducing Episiotomies, but None Reducing C-Sections

The report shows no such improvement in the rate of C-sections. According to the data, two in five reporting hospitals fully met Leapfrog's standard for NTSV C-sections of 23.9 percent or less. This represents no improvement, and instead a slight decline in performance since the 2016 Leapfrog Hospital Survey.

For both episiotomies and C-sections, survey data shows significant variation between hospitals, even in the same geographic region. For example, two hospitals only twelve miles apart in the Los Angeles area had episiotomy rates of a laudable 1.7 percent and a dangerous 22.7 percent. Women expecting a child are strongly encouraged to consult Leapfrog Hospital Survey results to identify the best-performing hospitals in their region on measures such as episiotomy and C-sections to have a greater likelihood of experiencing their desired birth outcome.

Additionally, nearly four of five hospitals handling high-risk deliveries lack the proper resources and expertise to do so. Leapfrog's standard recommends that mothers at risk for premature delivery choose a hospital that electively handles at least 50 very-low birth weight deliveries annually in an on-site or co-located NICU, or maintains a better-than-expected standardized morbidity ratio for these births. Only 22.1 percent of hospitals that reported delivering very-low birth weight babies fully met these standards, essentially unchanged from the 23 percent that did so in 2016.

The rate of early elective deliveries has continued declining and is now down to 1.6 percent among reporting hospitals, with 91.4 percent of hospitals fully meeting Leapfrog's standard of 5 percent or lower. By contrast, when Leapfrog began publicly reporting on this measure by hospital in 2010 the average rate was 17 percent. Hospitals are also performing well on maternity process of care measures, with 84.0 percent of hospitals reporting to the 2017 Survey fully meeting Leapfrog's standard. These processes include using a pneumatic compression device or taking other precautions to prevent a blood clot in the leg from becoming a pulmonary embolism, as well as screening for bilirubin levels to prevent hyperbilirubinemia.

"Though the national average remains too high, the significant decline in the rate of episiotomies is an encouraging sign. We salute the clinicians and national and regional health care organizations across the country who have led the way in these improvement efforts. More is needed to meet the standard for quality, but progress so far has made a real difference in the health and well-being of women in the United States," said Leapfrog President and CEO Leah Binder.

"Childbirth is the number one reason for hospitalization among all populations and age groups," said Castlight Chief Product Officer, Maeve O'Meara. "That alone tells us how critical it is to provide this information not just to consumers but to employers as well, who have a high stake in the care their employees receive. Employers should understand how hospitals are performing and we're pleased to partner with Leapfrog to bring this information into the sunlight."

The complete Maternity Care Report is available online. Other publicly available resources include:

• Maternity care data by hospital based on results of the Leapfrog Hospital Survey
• Resources and tools for patients, employers and purchasers, including many specific to maternity care

About The Leapfrog Group
Founded in 2000 by large employers and other purchasers,The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization driving a movement for giant leaps forward in the quality and safety of American health care. The flagship Leapfrog Hospital Survey collects and transparently reports hospital performance, empowering purchasers to find the highest-value care and giving consumers the lifesaving information they need to make informed decisions.The Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade, Leapfrog's other main initiative, assigns letter grades to hospitals based on their record of patient safety, helping consumers protect themselves and their families from errors, injuries, accidents, and infections.

About Castlight Health
Castlight is on a mission to make it as easy as humanly possible to navigate healthcare and live happier, healthier, more productive lives. Our health navigation platform connects with hundreds of health vendors, benefits resources, and plan designs, giving rise to the world's first comprehensive app for all health needs. We guide individuals—based on their unique profile—to the best resources available to them, whether they are healthy, chronically ill, or actively seeking medical care. In doing so, we help companies regain control over rising healthcare costs and get more value from their benefits investments. Castlight revolutionized the healthcare sector with the introduction of data-driven price transparency tools in 2008 and the first consumer-grade wellbeing platform in 2012. Today, Castlight serves as the health navigation platform for millions of people and is a trusted partner to many of the largest employers in the world. For more information, visit www.castlighthealth.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn and like us on Facebook.

CONTACTS:
Ashley Duvall
Stern Strategy Group (on behalf of
The Leapfrog Group)
908-325-3865
[email protected]

Shannon Magill
Castlight Health
202-792-7200
[email protected]

SOURCE Castlight Health