Greater Baltimore Medical Center Honored By March of Dimes For 39 Weeks Initiative

Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) has been recognized for reducing the number of elective inductions and Cesarean deliveries performed before 39 completed weeks of pregnancy. The March of Dimes says this will give more babies a healthy start in life. Babies delivered before full-term face an increase of serious health problems at birth and later in life and costs society more than a healthy full-term birth.

“We are honored to receive this recognition from the March of Dimes,” says John Chessare, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.H.E, President and Chief Executive Officer at GBMC HealthCare. “I am extremely proud of our physicians, nurses and support staff who saw this opportunity to improve care in our community and put in place policies to avoid scheduling elective inductions or caesarean deliveries before 39 weeks of pregnancy, except when medically necessary.”

This achievement is recognized through a banner from the March of Dimes, the Maryland Patient Safety Center and the Maryland Department of Health & Mental Hygiene. The banner will be displayed within the hospital – indicating the hospital’s strong commitment to improving the quality of care for moms and babies.

Research conducted by the March of Dimes, the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration found showed 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.

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