BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont leads the nation for its efforts in maternal and infant care– that’s according to a new report card from the March of Dimes.
The report gave Vermont an “A” rating because of low rates of preterm birth, infant mortality and maternal mortality compared to the rest of the country.
The head of maternal and fetal medicine at the state’s largest hospital credits generally good coverage for Vermonters.
“Increasingly, we’re relying on things like safety bundles that’s both in them on the maternal side and on the infant side. These are groups of processes that are implemented in every hospital to improve outcomes. And we’ve been quite diligent about implementing as many of those things as possible,” said Dr. Marjorie Meyer of the UVM Medical Center.
A challenge they face in implementing that, though, is staffing and turnover, especially in rural areas. So Meyer says they try to offer continuing education.