AHA podcast explores rural maternal health needs

An American Hospital Association podcast features Eilidh Pederson, CEO at Western Wisconsin Health in Baldwin, who outlines how rural hospitals can continue to provide needed access to safe, high-quality maternity health services in rural America. Pederson, who gave birth to her baby at the hospital where she works, is overseeing the expansion of the critical access hospital’s maternal care services. Western Wisconsin Health offers prenatal and postpartum care with a team of midwives, obstetricians and family medicine physicians; a seven-bed delivery unit; and a pediatric practice. The hospital prioritizes quality of care and has a 4% cesarean section rate, far below the national average.