St. Luke’s University Health Network has recorded more than 6,000 births for the first time in its history, surpassing last fiscal year’s record total of 5,000 births.
The milestone comes as many health systems across Pennsylvania and the nation are reporting declining or flattening birth rates. St. Luke’s said more mothers are choosing the network for prenatal care and deliveries at its three birthing hospitals: St. Luke’s Allentown, Anderson and Upper Bucks campuses.
“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 Elizabeth Dierking, MD, chair of the Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
The network’s 6,000th baby of the fiscal year was Levi, who was born at 2:09 a.m. Wednesday, June 10, at St. Luke’s Allentown Campus. He weighed 5 pounds, 15 ounces and measured 20 ½ inches long.
Levi is the son of Kevin Kelenski and Eliza Oliveri of Orefield. Oliveri is a patient of St. Luke’s Complete Women’s Care in Fogelsville.
“I’ve met a lot of great employees over multiple shifts, due to the length of my time in labor,” said Oliveri, a patient of St. Luke’s Complete Women’s Care in Fogelsville.
Most hospitals in northeast Pennsylvania are seeing a decline or flattening in birth rates, according to St. Luke’s, consistent with broader trends in Pennsylvania and across the country. U.S. birth rates are projected to decline throughout the rest of the century, from 10.8 births per 1,000 people in 2023 to 8.5 per 1,000 in 2100, according to USAFacts.
“This trend is happening throughout Pennsylvania and in most of the country – but not at St. Luke’s,” noted Dr. Dierking.
St. Luke’s attributed its growth in births to expanded maternity services, prenatal and postnatal care, and access to specialized medical programs across the network.
The health system said its labor and delivery units provide around-the-clock neonatology services for complex pregnancies, births and critically ill newborns. Its obstetrics and gynecology department also includes a maternal fetal medicine program offering care for obstetrics patients, hospital consultations, preconception counseling, genetic counseling and diabetes management.
St. Luke’s also offers its Baby & Me program, which includes lactation support, behavioral health care, prenatal and postnatal classes, support groups and educational resources.
The Labor and Delivery Unit and Obstetric Anesthesia Service at St. Luke’s Anderson Campus also has been designated as Pennsylvania’s third Center of Excellence by the Society of Obstetric Anesthesia and Perinatology, according to the network.
In 2024, St. Luke’s opened a new and expanded Labor and Delivery unit in the Women & Babies Pavilion at its Allentown Campus, doubling the size of the original unit. St. Luke’s Upper Bucks Campus began delivering babies in 2021, while the Anderson Campus launched its birthing program in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The network has also expanded pediatric care. St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital opened at the Bethlehem Campus in 2023, providing inpatient care, critical care, pediatric emergency care, pediatric surgical care and other services.
St. Luke’s said its obstetrics and gynecology and pediatric departments continue to collaborate to provide services for families close to home.
