Approximately one-quarter of healthy women with low-risk pregnancies still undergo C-sections despite the potential risks to mothers and babies. To avoid unnecessary C-sections, hospitals are making strides in recognizing risk factors for mothers and babies sooner.

In this podcast, Stephen Lockhart, M.D., chief medical officer of Sutter Health, discusses his organization’s approach to improving outcomes by reducing the number of first-birth C-section rates through its pregnancy and childbirth services. Listen here.

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A new blog, part of the Keeping Care Close to Home initiative, discusses how connected care networks are essential to sustaining rural maternal care. The blog…
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In this episode, Betty Chu, M.D., chief medical officer of Advocate Health, discusses leading a health system through Hurricane Helene, responding to…
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When the American Hospital Association launched the Keeping Care Close to Home: Innovations in Rural Maternal Health project in 2025, we set out to understand…
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In this conversation, Tori Bahr, M.D., section chief of pediatrics at Gillette Children’s, shares how healthcare teams can improve the transition from…
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The Department of Health and Human Services Oct. 9 announced the launch of its Newborn Essentials Support Toolkit Program, which, through partnership with the…
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 A study by the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center found that between 2007 and 2023, the percentage of midwife-attended births rose in…