While many health systems across Pennsylvania have been experiencing a decrease in newborn deliveries over the past five years, St. Luke’s University Health Network is trending in the opposite direction as more mothers choose St. Luke’s for their prenatal care and deliveries than ever before.

For the first time in the network’s history, 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.

“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, MD, chair of the Department of OB-GYN.

Tiny 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. The 20-inch long, 7-pound, 11.5-ounce infant 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. “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 Ellen, 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.

U.S. 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,” added Dr. Dierking.

More babies have been born at St. Luke’s than at any other health system in the Lehigh Valley.

In response to demand, the Network opened a new and expanded Labor and Delivery unit earlier this year in its Women & Babies Pavilion at its St. Luke’s Allentown Campus, doubling the size of its original unit. The first babies were born in this new facility on Valentine’s Day; 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, vice president of Operations. In addition to the three new Women & Babies Pavilions at their hospitals, St. Luke’s opened five new outpatient women’s health practices in the region: two in Easton, two in Upper Bucks and the Valley’s only OB/GYN office where Spanish is spoken exclusively, in Allentown.

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. Its four-year obstetrics/gynecology residency trains 24 new doctors per year at its Allentown and Anderson campuses.

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 Center of Excellence by the Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology, putting them in with national organizations that provide the highest level of safe and effective anesthesia care for women and their babies.