NC hospitals among the best in the US for maternity care, new report says. See the list
North Carolina has more than 20 hospitals rated among the best in the country for maternity care, a new report says.
The 2025 U.S. News Best Hospitals for Maternity Care ranking includes 23 hospitals across the state. California, New Jersey and Texas were the only states with more on the list.
“The hospitals ... showcase exceptional care for expectant parents,” said Jennifer Winston, a health data scientist at U.S. News, said in a news release. “These hospitals demonstrate significantly lower C-section rates and severe unexpected newborn complications compared to hospitals not recognized by U.S. News.”
In their report, U.S. News highlights hospital maternity care for uncomplicated pregnancies, which the National Institutes of Health defines as a normal pregnancy delivered after at least 37 weeks of gestation.
The ranking comes weeks after eight hospitals in the Charlotte area and seven hospitals in the Triangle received A grades in Leapfrog’s Fall 2024 Hospital Safety Grades report.
What makes a hospital best for maternity care?
U.S. News rated hospitals as “high performing” for maternity care based on seven metrics:
C-section delivery rates
Severe unexpected newborn complication rates
Routine vaginal birth after cesarean delivery rates
Commitment to exclusive breast milk feeding
Episiotomy rates
Birthing-friendly practices
Reporting on racial/ethnic disparities
Each hospital was given a composite score based on these metrics used to determine the level of maternity care, according to U.S. News.
Hospitals more likely to support breastfeeding, have lower C-section rates
Hospitals designated as “high performing” score significantly better in maternity care metrics, according to U.S. News.
Those on the list are more likely to be considered “baby-friendly” by Baby-Friendly USA, indicating a hospital has taken important steps to support breastfeeding. Half of the 23 hospitals rated as “baby-friendly” in North Carolina are also included on the U.S. News list.
Hospitals in the ranking have C-section and unexpected newborn complication rates 22% and 44% lower, respectively, than hospitals not recognized by U.S. News.
Which NC hospitals are best for maternity care?
The following North Carolina hospitals were included in the U.S. News Best Hospitals For Maternity Care ranking:
Alamance Regional Medical Center (Burlington)
Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center (Winston-Salem)
Atrium Health-Cabarrus (Concord)
Atrium Health-Pineville (Charlotte)
Atrium Health-Stanly (Albemarle)
Atrium Health-Union (Monroe)
Catawba Valley Medical Center (Hickory)
ECU Health Medical Center (Greenville)
Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital (Greensboro)
Nash Health Care Systems (Rocky Mount)
Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center (Winston-Salem)
Novant Health Huntersville Medical Center (Huntersville)
Novant Health Matthews Medical Center (Matthews)
Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center (Wilmington)
Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center (Charlotte)
Novant Health Rowan Medical Center (Salisbury)
Novant Health Thomasville Medical Center (Thomasville)
UNC Health Rockingham-Eden (Eden)
UNC Hospitals (Chapel Hill)
UNC Rex Hospital (Raleigh)
WakeMed Cary Hospital (Cary)
WakeMed Raleigh Campus (Raleigh)
Watauga Medical Center (Boone)
“UNC Health is proud to help deliver thousands of babies across our state every year,” said Dr. Wesley Burks, CEO of UNC Health, in a press release. “Our teammates and physicians are dedicated to offering the best care for moms and their babies.”
A few notes:
▪ Hospitals included in this list are not ranked from best to worst — all hospitals on the list were designated as “high performing” in maternity care by U.S. News.
▪ There were 13 North Carolina hospitals on the list that were not recognized as “high performing,” so no overall rating appears on their scorecards, per U.S. News. Those hospitals offer maternity services, submitted data and were evaluated, but did not have a high enough composite score to be recognized as “high performing.”
How can expectant parents use the ranking?
IThe U.S. News ranking includes information on individual metrics, such as how the hospitals are doing in terms of C-section rates, severe unexpected newborn complication rates, vaginal births after C-section rates and exclusive breast milk feeding rates.
“Those [factors] can all be really useful to parents in deciding about the quality metrics that are important to them,” Winston said. “We also provide information about services that a hospital provides or has available, like whether they have a NICU or whether they have lactation consultants, midwives or doulas available.”
Find the report and its methodology at health.usnews.com/best-hospitals.
This story was originally published December 11, 2024 at 6:30 AM with the headline "NC hospitals among the best in the US for maternity care, new report says. See the list."
