Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital Recognized for Excellent Work with Prematurely Born Babies

Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital garnered significant praise for its work in improving the health of prematurely born babies ("preemies") and in increasing breast milk feeding in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

According to the hospital, the premature birth rate in Ohio hovers around 12 percent.

That has netted the state a "C" from March of Dimes, which grades states on their efforts. That group's goal is to get the rate down to 9.6 percent nationwide by 2020.

Here's a quick rundown of what Rainbow Babies has been doing to work toward that goal:

- Increased breastmilk feeding within 72 hours of life from 35 percent to 90 percent from 2012 to 2013.
- Increased infants whose mothers are pumping from the first six hours of birth from 33 percent to 60 percent.
- Increased infant feeding with more than 50 percent volume of mother’s milk at 21 days from 81 percent to 100 percent.