SLUHN delivers 5,000 babies; bucks national and state trends

St. Luke’s University Health Network is bucking the trend of declining newborn deliveries.

For the first time in the network’s history, SLUHN said a total of more than 5,000 babies were born at St. Luke’s three birthing hospitals during a fiscal year, which ends June 30. The figure surpassed Fiscal Year 2023’s total of 4,700 births, which itself was a new high.

“This major milestone reflects our patients’ trust in, and desire for, the special care and expertise they experience in our labor and delivery suites at St. Luke’s Allentown, Anderson and Upper Bucks campuses,” said Dr. Elizabeth Dierking, chair of the Department of OBGYN, in a statement.

Colette Harrar became number 5,000, arriving on June 26, at 10:49 p.m., at St. Luke’s Allentown Campus in its new Labor and Delivery Unit. She is the daughter of Kutztown residents Glenn and Ellen Harrar, and the little sister of their daughter Harper.

“We really like St. Luke’s,” said Ellen Harrar. “This is a beautiful facility, and the care is phenomenal and very professional.”

Two other babies were born at this hospital on the same day.

Harper was born at another hospital, but the Harrars chose to switch to St. Luke’s after hearing great stories from friends about the care there.

“We were looking for something new, and this was a wonderful experience,” said Harrar, who vowed to return to St. Luke’s if she would become pregnant with a third child.

Hospitals in Northeast Pennsylvania are seeing a decline or flattening of their birth rates, consistent with the rest of Pennsylvania and the nation, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health’s Vital Statistics.

US birth rates are predicted to decline throughout the remainder of the 21st century, from 10.8 births per 1,000 people in 2023 to 8.5 per 1,000 in 2100, according to usafacts.org.

“This trend is happening throughout Pennsylvania and in most of the country, but not at St. Luke’s,” said Dierking.

In response to demand, SLUHN said it opened a new and expanded Labor and Delivery unit in its Women & Babies Pavilion at its St. Luke’s Allentown Campus, doubling the size of its original unit, earlier this year. The first babies were born in the facility on Valentine’s Day and to date 577 births have taken place there.

In addition to the Allentown Women & Babies Pavilion, St. Luke’s Upper Bucks Campus began delivering babies in 2022, following the St. Luke’s Anderson Campus, which launched its birthing program during the COVID pandemic in 2020.

“To grow our capacity, and keep our commitment to our community, for meeting the needs of women of all ages, St. Luke’s has invested $250 million in women’s health facilities, programs and expert staffing,” said Nicole Nye, Network vice president of Operations.

In addition to the Women & Babies Pavilions, SLUHN opened five new outpatient women’s health practices in the region.

Fifteen new obstetric/gynecologists have joined the network since 2020 and plans to bring on five more within the next two years as the need for these specialists grows, SLUHN said. Its four-year obstetrics/gynecology residency trains 24 new doctors per year at its Allentown and Anderson campuses.

“Our patients tell us they seek a St. Luke’s provider/practice for the convenience and quality of their pregnancy and birthing experience, which isn’t a common practice in most other networks,” said Dierking. St. Luke’s “Baby and Me” program ensures personalized prenatal and postpartum care, in addition to lactation education and support, behavioral health care and expertise for high-risk pregnancies.

In May, St. Luke’s Labor and Delivery Unit and Obstetric Anesthesia Service at St. Luke’s Anderson Campus was designated as Pennsylvania’s third (and the Valley’s first) Center of Excellence by the Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology.

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