ACOG Supports the Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act

Washington, DC—Mark S. DeFrancesco, MD, President of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), released the following statement regarding ACOG’s support for S. 466, the Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act:

“ACOG is pleased to support the Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act (S. 466). The goal of every obstetrician-gynecologist is a healthy mother and a healthy baby. By helping labor and delivery teams apply the current best practices in obstetrical care, the Quality Care for Moms and Babies Act will help to ensure better outcomes for more American families.

“The value of quality collaboratives is clear. For example, local initiatives have reduced early elective deliveries and lowered the rate of cesarean deliveries, resulting in shorter hospital stays and fewer visits to neonatal intensive care units. This means better quality of life for mother and baby, and also demonstrably lowers overall health care costs.

“As the leading group of health care providers dedicated to caring for women, ACOG is committed to reviewing the available medical literature and issuing evidence-based practice recommendations for our Fellows and other health care providers. Quality collaboratives are an important way to help make sure that those recommendations—including those related to early elective deliveries and avoiding the primary cesarean—are implemented in a way that truly improves the care that women receive.

“Moreover, by building upon existing maternity care quality measures, S. 466 will give health care providers and health systems the tools that they need to evaluate and improve their performance when it comes to maternity care.

“This is important now more than ever. Incredibly, the United States is one of the only countries in the world where the maternal mortality rate has actually increased in recent years. We know that we can stop this disappointing trend, but to do so requires effective changes to our health care system. Quality collaboratives and improved quality reporting measures are changes that will have a real and lasting impact on women.

“We thank Senator Debbie Stabenow and Senator Chuck Grassley for their leadership on the issue of improving maternity care, and urge the Committee to report it to the floor without amendments.”

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (The College), a 501(c)(3) organization, is the nation’s leading group of physicians providing health care for women. As a private, voluntary, nonprofit membership organization of more than 58,000 members, The College strongly advocates for quality health care for women, maintains the highest standards of clinical practice and continuing education of its members, promotes patient education, and increases awareness among its members and the public of the changing issues facing women’s health care. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a 501(c)(6) organization, is its companion organization. www.acog.org