Strong Start for Mothers and Newborns: What Health Care Providers Can Do to Help Reduce Early Elective Deliveries

Let's get mothers and newborns off to a strong start. Here is what you can do to help.

Learn More about Strong Start

• See how you can help reduce early elective deliveries (PDF)

Read What the Experts Have to Say

ACOG's patient safety checklists are intended to identify items or tasks that should be confirmed before or during a procedure or to facilitate documentation of what was accomplished or utilized during a procedure. These checklists should not be construed as dictating an exclusive course of treatment or procedure to be followed and may be adapted to local resources.

• ACOG Patient Safety Checklist #3: Scheduling Planned Cesarean Delivery
• ACOG Patient Safety Checklist #5: Scheduling Induction of Labor

The March of Dimes wants babies to get at least 39 weeks of pregnancy. For professionals, they encourage participation in quality improvement initiatives aimed at preventing premature birth.

Share Expectant Mothers and Families Resources

• Use these Strong Start resources when communicating with expectant mothers and families.
• Encourage expectant mothers to sign up for Text4Baby text messages to get support throughout their pregnancy and baby’s first year. Learn more about this important service and promote enrollment using these resources for health care providers.
• The Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) has created resources to help women understand the many reasons it’s important for a mom to carry her baby to term.

Spread the Word

• Share expectant mothers and families resources with your colleagues.
• Add a “Strong Start” (PDF) article to your patient newsletter.
• Tell us about your organization’s efforts and share other important resources.
• Share this page with your members, colleagues, and the world. Here's an example tweet:

Learn how mothers can help ensure a #strongstart for their newborns:http://go.cms.gov/LSNWZi