Jefferson Hospital tops 1K births for first time with arrival of twins
With the arrival of twins on Wednesday, Jefferson Hospital has reached 1,000 births in a year for the first time in the four-year history of its Women and Infants Center, Allegheny Health Network announced Friday.
Kaitlyn Bradley, of Bentleyville, gave birth to twin girls, the 1,000th and 1,001st babies and the 10th set of twins born at the Jefferson Hills hospital this year. Dr. David Logan, director of obstetrics, delivered Arianna at 5:24 p.m. followed by her sister, Skylar, at 6:02 p.m.
They join a family that includes 9-year-old sister Jordin and 4-year-old brother Cameron.
“Two happy, healthy girls, plus their older siblings. That’s all we could ask for right before Christmas,” said their father and Kaitlyn’s boyfriend, Cam.
More than 3,700 babies have been delivered at Jefferson, part of Allegheny Health Network, since the Women and Infants Center opened in November 2014. It was the first new obstetrics unit in the state in 30 years, coming after dozens of obstetric departments in western Pennsylvania closed.
“Allegheny Health Network made a commitment to the women of the South Hills, lower Mon Valley, and surrounding communities several years ago — that we would bring high-quality maternity services to Jefferson Hospital so that local women could receive the pre- and post-natal and obstetric care they needed close to home,” said Dr. Allan Klapper, chair of the AHN Women and Children’s Institute. “Achieving this milestone speaks to the demand for care that exists and the level of trust the community has placed in Jefferson Hospital.”
The thousand-birth milestone comes a few months after Jefferson Hospital became the first hospital in western Pennsylvania to achieve “Keystone 10” designation,” a Pennsylvania Department of Health quality improvement breastfeeding initiative aimed at improving the protection, promotion, and support of breastfeeding for all Pennsylvania infants, mothers, and families.
Keystone 10-designated facilities focus on initiating breastfeeding for new moms, exclusive breastfeeding, skin-to-skin contact and rooming-in, among other elements.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, breastfed infants are less likely to develop asthma, respiratory and ear infections, type 2 diabetes, and obesity and suffer Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Mothers who breastfeed reduce their chances of developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers.
In addition to Jefferson Hospital, AHN also delivers babies at West Penn, Forbes, and Saint Vincent hospitals. An estimated 7,700 babies will be born at AHN hospitals this year, a 60 percent increase from 2013.
The new AHN Wexford Hospital, expected to open in 2021, will feature labor and delivery services, giving the network four hospitals that deliver babies across Allegheny County.
Brian Rittmeyer is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Brian at 724-226-4701, brittmeyer@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BCRittmeyer.
