Maternity Practices Score in United States
United States
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United States Value:
81
Maternity Practices in Infant and Nutrition Care (mPINC) survey score based on seven birth facility policies and practices, with higher scores denoting better maternity care policies and practices
Maternity Practices Score in depth:
Appears In:
Maternity Practices Score by State
Maternity Practices in Infant and Nutrition Care (mPINC) survey score based on seven birth facility policies and practices, with higher scores denoting better maternity care policies and practices
Maternity Practices Score in
Data from CDC, mPINC State Report Series, 2022
>= 86
82 - 85
81 - 81
77 - 80
<= 76
No Data
Maternity Practices Score
- CDC, mPINC State Report Series, 2022
About Maternity Practices Score
US Value: 81
Top State(s): Delaware: 93
Bottom State(s): Tennessee: 72
Definition: Maternity Practices in Infant and Nutrition Care (mPINC) survey score based on seven birth facility policies and practices, with higher scores denoting better maternity care policies and practices
Data Source and Years(s): CDC, mPINC State Report Series, 2022
Suggested Citation: America's Health Rankings analysis of CDC, mPINC State Report Series, United Health Foundation, AmericasHealthRankings.org, accessed 2024.
Although most hospital administrators and staff agree that breastfeeding provides optimal nutrition for most infants, many hospitals and clinics fail to implement practices that support breastfeeding. In 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with the assistance of an expert panel, established an ongoing national survey system to monitor and evaluate hospital practices related to breastfeeding among all facilities that routinely provide maternity care in the United States. First administered in 2007, the Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC) survey measures the quality of hospital maternity practices to support breastfeeding.
The birthing hospitals and facilities surveyed are evaluated in a number of areas and receive both subscores and an overall mPINC score. These scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores representing better maternity care practices. Each state also receives its own mPINC score and report with the proportion of hospital facilities within the state that reported the ideal responses to each question on the survey.
The survey monitors aspects of maternal breastfeeding and newborn care, such as:
- Immediate postpartum care.
- Rooming-in.
- Feeding practices.
- Feeding education and support.
- Discharge support.
- Institutional management.
To improve an mPINC score, a hospital should seek to improve its practices in the seven dimensions of care: caring, compassion, spirituality, community outreach, providing comfort, crisis intervention and going the extra mile. Improvement in any of these dimensions will likely increase the overall mPINC score, and each dimension of care has several areas of potential improvement.
Since the establishment of the mPINC survey, researchers have observed nationwide improvements in many of the maternity care policies and practices measured, though such changes cannot be directly attributed to the survey itself. The mPINC survey has brought hospitals and birth facilities together to improve their standard of care.
Edwards, Roger A., and Barbara L. Philipp. “Using Maternity Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care (mPINC) Survey Results as a Catalyst for Change.” Journal of Human Lactation 26, no. 4 (November 2010): 399–404. https://doi.org/10.1177/0890334410371212.
Hudacek, Sharon S. “Dimensions of Caring: A Qualitative Analysis of Nurses’ Stories.” Journal of Nursing Education 47, no. 3 (March 2008): 124–29. https://doi.org/10.3928/01484834-20080301-04.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Support Breastfeeding.” Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General, 2011. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK52682/.
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