What Makes a Hospital "Birthing-Friendly"?
Understand the criteria behind the CMS Birthing-Friendly designation and how it helps expecting mothers choose safer maternity care facilities.
What is the Birthing-Friendly Designation?
The "Birthing-Friendly" designation is the first-ever quality label created by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) specifically focused on maternal health. Introduced to combat rising maternal mortality and morbidity rates in the United States, this public designation helps expecting parents easily identify hospitals that have demonstrated a commitment to high-quality, evidence-based maternity care.
How Does a Hospital Earn the Label?
Unlike star ratings which exist on a 1-to-5 scale, the Birthing-Friendly designation is binary (a hospital either has it or it doesn't). To earn this prestigious label, a hospital or health system must meet rigorous standards on the Maternal Morbidity Structural Measure. Specifically, they must:
- Participate in a Collaborative: The hospital must actively participate in a statewide or national perinatal quality improvement (QI) collaborative program.
- Implement Evidence-Based Interventions: The hospital must actively implement recognized, evidence-based patient safety practices or "bundles" to improve maternal outcomes (such as protocols for managing severe bleeding or severe high blood pressure during pregnancy).
The primary goal of this designation is not just to report data, but to ensure hospitals have a systematic, hospital-wide readiness to handle obstetric emergencies, thereby significantly reducing the risk of maternal death or injury.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
View our curated directory of CMS-designated Birthing-Friendly hospitals in your state to ensure the highest quality perinatal care.
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