OB-GYN Chairman of Hackensack University Medical Center Honored by March of Dimes

Dr. Manny Alvarez, chairman of Obstetrics and Gynecology at HackensackUMC, receives top leadership award from the March of Dimes.

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Dr. Manny Alvarez, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology, Donna A Sanzari Women’s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center, received the first-ever March of Dimes President’s Award for Prematurity Prevention Leadership for reducing early elective C-sections.

Under Dr. Alvarez’s leadership, the hospital implemented policies that have reduced medically unnecessary early-term deliveries from nearly 43 percent in 2009 to five percent in November of 2011.

“Because of Dr. Alvarez’s leadership more babies are going full-term, which prevents preterm birth. Dr. Alvarez is a true champion for babies,” said Dr. Jennifer L. Howse, president of the March of Dimes.

Every week of pregnancy is crucial to a newborn’s health. Recent research has shown that a baby’s brain nearly doubles in weight during the last few weeks of pregnancy. Also, important lung and other organ development occur at this time. And, the overall risk of death, though modest, is double for infants born at 37 weeks of pregnancy, when compared to babies born at 40 weeks, for all races and ethnicities.

 “I am extremely proud of Dr. Alvarez and his work to implement policies at HackensackUMC to reduce the number of early elective C-sections,” said Robert C. Garrett, president and chief executive officer of HackensackUMC.  “Because of Dr. Alvarez and his dedication to this cause, more and more babies are being born full-term, giving them a much healthier start in life.”   

The March of Dimes has been working with hospitals and health policy experts to implement a quality improvement toolkit called, “Elimination of Non-medically Indicated (Elective) Deliveries Before 39 Weeks Gestational Age.” This toolkit can help hospitals reduce the number of medically unnecessary C-sections and inductions scheduled before 39 weeks of pregnancy. 

The March of Dimes advises that if a pregnancy is healthy, and there are no complications that require an early delivery, women should wait until labor begins on its own or until at least 39 weeks of pregnancy.

“As a hospital, we decided we needed to do what we could to discourage as many elective deliveries before 39 weeks of pregnancy as possible,” said Dr. Manny Alvarez, chairman of obstetrics and gynecology at HackensackUMC.  “It hasn’t been an easy process, changing the mind-set of parents.  But, through education, expectant parents are becoming more aware of the dangers of early deliveries and making better choices for their families.”

The March of Dimes is the leading nonprofit organization for pregnancy and baby health.  With chapters nationwide, the March of Dimes works to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. For the latest resources and information, visit marchofdimes.com or nacersano.org.

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