Methodology

For the list, U.S. News evaluated hospitals providing maternity care on their quality in eight measures across three categories:

• Outcomes, which included C-section rates, newborn complication rates, and episiotomy rates (60%)
• Process, which included early elective delivery rates, exclusive breast milk feeding rates, vaginal birth after cesarean rates, and transparency on racial/ethnic disparities (35%)
• Structure, which included birthing-friendly practice (5%)

U.S. News also recognized maternity care access hospitals, which provide maternity care in areas that might otherwise be unable to access these services. Hospitals were required to meet both geographic and quality criteria.

Geographic criteria (must meet one):

• Be the only hospital providing maternity care within a county and be located in a county with fewer than 60 obstetrics providers per 10,000 births
• Be the only hospital within a 15-mile radius and located in a county with fewer than 128 obstetric providers per 10,000 births

Quality criteria (must not do either):

• Receive the lowest score unexpected newborn complications, C-sections, early elective delivery, or episiotomy rates
• Report an exclusive breast milk feeding rate below 21.2%

In total, 680 hospitals submitted survey data and were eligible for recognition on the list. Data for evaluation was self-reported by hospitals via an online survey over the course of two months beginning June 7, 2023.

The best hospitals for maternity care

Overall, 311 hospitals were recognized as high-performing hospitals for maternity care.

"Hospitals that receive a high performing designation as part of Best Hospitals for Maternity Care meet a high standard in caring for parents with uncomplicated pregnancies," said Jennifer Winston, a health data scientist at U.S. News. "These hospitals have C-section rates that are 26% lower, and newborn complication rates that are 37% lower than unrecognized hospitals that participated in the survey."

The states with the most high-performing hospitals were California (63), Pennsylvania (22), and New Jersey (19).

According to U.S. News, Alaska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands did not have any eligible hospitals submit data for evaluation. Among states with participating hospitals, Delaware, Mississippi, and Vermont did not have any facilities that were recognized as high performing.

U.S. News also recognized 73 hospitals as "Maternity Care Access Hospitals," which provided care to expecting parents "who wouldn't otherwise have access to maternity care and serve communities that would otherwise be maternity care deserts."

The states with the most maternity care access hospitals were Michigan (nine), Minnesota (eight), and Pennsylvania (eight).

"While growing maternity care deserts in parts of the country have left millions of people without local access to maternity care, these (recognized hospitals) persist in providing this vital service to under-resourced communities," Winston said.

Advisory Board's maternity care resources

To help you address issues related to maternity care, Advisory Board offers a library of resources on women's health, which includes:

Trends in women's health

We have several resources on the top drivers of change in the maternal and reproductive health market, as well as the outlook for the women's health service line.

These ready-to-use-slides can also help you understand the trends impacting maternal and reproductive care and how they will impact cross-industry stakeholders.

How to improve women's health

To learn more about ways to improve women's health in the United States, this report outlines six key factors to take into consideration, including the roles of various healthcare stakeholders and the importance of cross-industry collaboration.

For resources related specifically to maternity care, this research brief explains how Enhanced Recovery After Surgery protocol for C-sections can reduce patient length of stay for obstetrics, which can help with capacity constraints. In this white paper, we offer key tactics for launching a successful midwifery program and explain how to overcome common implementation challenges.

This expert commentary also outlines ways healthcare stakeholders can reduce maternity care deserts and improve pregnancy outcomes. Some examples include expanding outreach with mobile units/satellite clinics and using digital health to close gaps in maternity care. (Henderson, MedPage Today, 12/5; Rodriguez, USA Today, 12/5; "Best Hospitals for Maternity Care," U.S. News & World Report, accessed 12/11; U.S. News & World Report methodology, accessed 12/11)