Celebrating our 1,000th baby of 2024
- Category: General, Women’s Health, Maternity Care
- Posted On:
- Written By: Boulder Community Health
It has become a holiday season to remember at Boulder Community Health (BCH).
On Dec 18, 2024, at 11:28 a.m., our Family Birth Center at Foothills Hospital welcomed a special festive gift to one Westminster family: Baby Ivy Althea Brigham weighed in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces and measured 20 inches long, born to parents Effie and Hank Brigham.
With Little Ivy’s arrival, our Family Birth Center welcomed the 1,000th delivery for the first time in a single year for nearly a decade.
Today's Daily Camera features a story about this tremendous milestone for our maternity team.
A link to the article and full content are provided below:
Boulder Community Health celebrates its 1,000th birth
Hospital reaches milestone for the first time since 2015
By Olivia Doak
Boulder Community Health’s Family Birth Center at the Foothills Hospital in Boulder ended the year with 1,000 births for the first time in nearly a decade.
Ivy Althea Brigham, born on Dec. 18, marked the 1,000th birth at the Family Birth Center this year, the first time that has happened since 2015. She weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces and was born to Westminster residents Effie and Hank Brigham.
The hospital had a special celebration for the new baby. Staff at the gift shop created a gift basket of toys for the baby and spa items for her mother.
“We are pretty excited as you would imagine,” Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Operations Jackie Attlesey-Pries said. “This is a big milestone for us in a city that actually has a birthrate that’s dropping. So that’s very complementary to our providers and our staff who take really great care of women and families who are having babies.”
Births at the Foothills Hospital have been trending up in the years after the pandemic. Starting around 2015, Attlesey-Pries said, births decreased because there were fewer providers in the community, fewer midwife options and fewer people of childbirth age moving to Boulder. The hospital’s expansion of its midwife program and high-quality care has attracted women to Boulder Community Health.
From the early 2000s to 2015, Attlesey-Pries said, the hospital averaged about 1,200 babies a year.
“We are very excited to be back at this level,” she said.
Family Birth Center Director Lisa Allen said it’s a testament to the hard work of the nursing staff and providers.
“It’s something that moms think a lot about, dream about. What’s my birth going to be like?” Allen said. “It’s important they not only have the birth they have envisioned with their family but also that it’s safe.”
Amenities at the Family Birth Center include private, spacious suites with views of the Flatirons mountains, birth balls and squat bars, innovative pain and stress relief options, breastfeeding support and childbirth classes.
It also includes a special care nursery, or a Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, in collaboration with Children’s Hospital Colorado for families with premature babies or infants with extra medical needs.
The Family Birth Center in Boulder has been recognized by U.S. News and World Report as one of the Best Hospitals for Maternity Care in 2025, the hospital’s third time being recognized. It also earned the baby-friendly designation, a global initiative sponsored by the World Health Organization and United Nations Children’s Fund and promoted by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. It’s designated as a “birthing friendly” hospital by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
Allen said they will continue to improve the quality of care and help women with their mental health. She wants to see their new mom’s group continue, which is a group new moms can join for support and to meet one another.
“I hope to keep going in the direction that we’re going,” Allen said.
Boulder Community Health is a regional health system with facilities throughout Boulder and Broomfield Counties. For more information, visit bch.org/baby.