U.S. News releases 2025 list of high performing, best hospitals for maternity care access
Key takeaways:
- U.S. News & World Report identified 414 hospitals as high performers for maternity care access.
- This year had the most hospitals submit maternity care data than any previous year.
U.S. News & World Report released its 2025 lists of the best maternity care access hospitals and hospitals with high maternity care performance, according to a press release from the publication.
New in 2025, U.S. News researchers incorporated additional pathways for hospitals to demonstrate breastfeeding commitments, used rates of severe unexpected newborn complications instead of overall unexpected complications as previously used, increased the weight of reporting on a racial and ethnic disparities measure and a birthing-friendly practices measure and introduced measures of labor and delivery representation by race and ethnicity.
“With a record-breaking number of hospitals evaluated, U.S. News’ 2025 Best Hospitals for Maternity Care ratings represent the most comprehensive resource yet for expectant parents,” Jennifer Winston, PhD, health data scientist at U.S. News & World Report, said in the release.
Researchers constructed a composite maternity care score based upon cesarean delivery rates, severe unexpected newborn complication rates, routine vaginal birth after cesarean delivery rates, commitment to exclusive breastfeeding, episiotomy rates, birthing-friendly practices and reporting on racial and ethnic disparities.
This year, 817 hospitals submitted maternity data for evaluation, of which 414 hospitals were chosen for recognition for offering high-quality maternity care by U.S. News. In addition, researchers identified 118 hospitals that provided maternity care services in areas that otherwise had no access to this type of care.
The full lists of hospitals that received a maternity care access designation and a high performing for maternity care designation can be found at USNews.com.
“These high-performing hospitals showcase exceptional care for expectant parents, demonstrating significantly lower C-section rates and severe unexpected newborn complications compared to hospitals not recognized by U.S. News,” Winston said.
Reference:
- U.S. News & World Report announces the 2025 best hospitals for maternity care. health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/hospital-ratings/maternity?src=usn_pr. Published Dec. 10, 2024. Accessed Dec. 10, 2024.