Best Hospitals For Maternity Care 2025: 75 Top U.S. Picks
Discover America's top 75 hospitals excelling in safe, compassionate maternity care.
Best Hospitals for Maternity Care 2025: Finding Excellence in Maternal Healthcare
Choosing the right hospital for maternity care is one of the most important healthcare decisions expectant parents make. Money magazine’s 2025 rankings of the best hospitals for maternity care provide a comprehensive guide to 75 top-tier facilities across the United States that have demonstrated exceptional excellence in delivering safe, high-quality care to mothers and newborns. These hospitals represent the pinnacle of maternal healthcare, combining advanced medical technology, experienced healthcare professionals, and patient-centered care approaches.
The selection of these hospitals reflects rigorous evaluation standards designed to ensure that families receive the highest caliber of care during one of life’s most significant moments. Whether expectant parents are planning for a low-risk birth or require specialized care for complex maternal, fetal, or newborn conditions, Money’s curated list identifies hospitals that are well-equipped to handle every scenario with expertise and compassion.
Understanding Money’s Ranking Methodology
Money magazine’s evaluation process for maternity care hospitals employs a sophisticated methodology that examines multiple dimensions of hospital quality and performance. The ranking system begins by focusing exclusively on short-term, acute-care hospitals that maintain a minimum three-star rating from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). These baseline ratings reflect critical metrics including patient safety, mortality rates, hospital readmissions, patient experience scores, and the timeliness of care delivery.
Core Evaluation Categories
Money assigns each hospital a “Maternity Grade” based on a numerical score derived from three core categories, with carefully weighted emphasis on different aspects of care:
Hospital Quality (25% weight): This category evaluates the overall medical infrastructure and operational excellence of the facility, ensuring that hospitals maintain high standards across all departments and services.
Maternity Focus (45% weight): Representing the largest component of the evaluation, this category emphasizes hospitals’ dedication and specialization in maternal care. Hospitals receive higher scores for factors such as the presence of advanced neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), high volumes of maternity procedures, and adherence to best practices for scheduling deliveries.
Maternity-Specific Accreditations (30% weight): Hospitals with specialized credentials demonstrating adherence to rigorous standards for maternal and newborn health receive significant credit. Facilities with accreditations at the highest level of maternal care, such as Level IV designations, earn additional points in this category.
Key Criteria for Hospital Selection
According to Money’s comprehensive evaluation, the best hospitals for maternity care demonstrate several defining characteristics. These facilities are well-equipped to handle a variety of situations and complications, from straightforward low-risk births to complex maternal, fetal, and newborn procedures. The hospitals on Money’s list offer safe, effective treatment, led by experienced OB/GYN and perinatal physicians and specialists who bring years of expertise to patient care.
Money identified several key indicators of quality maternity care that informed its analysis:
Dedication to Comprehensive Care: The best hospitals demonstrate a commitment to supporting mothers and babies before, during, and after birth, recognizing that quality maternal care extends throughout the entire pregnancy journey and postpartum period.
Patient Satisfaction Metrics: Hospitals that consistently receive high patient satisfaction ratings demonstrate their ability to provide not only medical excellence but also compassionate, patient-centered care experiences.
Safety Records: Exceptional safety records indicate a hospital’s commitment to preventing complications and maintaining the highest standards of clinical care for vulnerable populations.
Noteworthy Maternity Accreditations: Specialized accreditations such as Baby-Friendly® USA designation, level designations from the American Academy of Pediatrics, and other recognized credentials signal adherence to evidence-based best practices.
Data Sources and Research Partners
To compile its comprehensive 2025 list, Money collaborated with multiple authoritative data sources to ensure accuracy and comprehensiveness. Definitive Healthcare served as Money’s core data partner for the project, providing detailed hospital performance metrics and operational data. The research team also relied on publicly available data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and The Joint Commission, two of the nation’s most respected healthcare oversight organizations. Additionally, the University of Southern California’s Chan department provided specialized data on the nation’s neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), ensuring that the rankings accurately reflected hospitals’ capabilities in newborn care.
Top-Ranked Maternity Hospitals
The 2025 rankings identify several hospitals that have achieved the highest distinctions in maternity care quality. HSHS St. Vincent Hospital in Green Bay, Wisconsin, earned the number one ranking with an exceptional A+ Maternity Grade. Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ranked second, also achieving an A+ Maternity Grade. Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, secured the third position with an A+ rating, recognizing its outstanding commitment to maternal and newborn health.
Other top performers include Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey, SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, and Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. These hospitals represent a diverse geographic distribution across the United States, ensuring that families in different regions have access to exceptional maternity care facilities.
Price Transparency in Maternity Care
Beyond clinical quality, Money recognized that financial transparency is an important aspect of healthcare decision-making for expectant families. In addition to grading hospitals on their maternity care quality, Money assessed each facility on the transparency of its pricing practices. The evaluation compared hospitals’ publicly listed prices with the actual payments they received from patients and their insurers, providing insight into pricing honesty and consistency.
Money assigned each hospital a price transparency grade ranging from A to D, with higher grades indicating greater alignment between stated prices and actual charges paid by patients and insurers. Importantly, Money emphasized that the price transparency grade is unweighted and does not affect the order in which hospitals rank, which is solely based on quality of care metrics. This approach ensures that the quality rankings remain focused entirely on clinical excellence and patient outcomes rather than financial factors.
Understanding NICU Levels
A critical component of evaluating maternity hospitals involves understanding the levels of neonatal intensive care available. Hospitals on Money’s list offer varying NICU levels, reflecting their capability to manage different complexities of newborn care:
Level 2 NICUs: Provide care for moderately ill newborns who are stable but require specialized nursing care and monitoring.
Level 3 NICUs: Offer comprehensive care for seriously ill newborns and premature infants, with advanced technological capabilities and specialized medical expertise.
Level 4 NICUs: Represent the highest level of neonatal care, capable of managing the most critically ill and extremely premature infants, often including surgical capabilities and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) support.
Many hospitals on Money’s ranking feature Level 3 NICUs, ensuring access to high-quality specialized newborn care, while some leading institutions offer Level 4 capabilities for the most complex cases.
Special Recognitions and Designations
Several hospitals on Money’s list have earned additional prestigious recognitions for their maternity care excellence. For example, Women & Infants Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island, holds the distinction of being a Designated Baby-Friendly® USA hospital, reflecting its commitment to evidence-based infant feeding and bonding practices. The hospital was also recently recognized by Newsweek as one of America’s Best Maternity Hospitals in 2024, and its Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology ranks highly among U.S. medical schools in specialty rankings.
Hospitals earning positions on Money’s list demonstrate commitment to evolving best practices in maternity care. Many provide enhanced birthing options, including access to midwifery services, doula support, alternative birth positioning options, and flexible visitation policies that accommodate extended family and support partners. This patient-centered approach recognizes that the birthing experience is deeply personal and that accommodating individual preferences enhances patient satisfaction and outcomes.
Geographic Distribution and Accessibility
Money’s ranking of 75 hospitals ensures geographic diversity across the United States, with recognized facilities in virtually every region of the country. This distribution helps expectant families in different states and communities identify high-quality maternity care options within reasonable distance from their homes. Hospitals on the list represent major metropolitan areas, smaller cities, and regions across the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and West Coast.
The inclusion of hospitals from diverse geographic regions acknowledges that exceptional maternity care exists throughout the country, not merely in the largest medical centers. This geographic representation ensures that families have meaningful options regardless of their location, helping to reduce healthcare disparities and improve access to quality maternal care across America.
Maternity Grades and Hospital Ratings Explained
The hospitals on Money’s 2025 maternity care rankings receive Maternity Grades ranging from A+ to B, with most ranked facilities receiving A or A- ratings. These grades represent Money’s assessment of each hospital’s overall excellence in maternity care based on the comprehensive evaluation criteria previously discussed.
Hospitals earning A+ grades represent the highest tier of maternity care excellence, demonstrating exceptional performance across all evaluation categories. Hospitals with A ratings provide excellent maternity care with strong performance metrics, while A- ratings indicate very good care with minor areas for potential improvement. Hospitals receiving B+ and B grades still demonstrate solid quality and meet rigorous standards but may have less specialization or smaller maternity volumes compared to higher-rated facilities.
Making Your Hospital Selection
When selecting a maternity hospital, expectant families should consider multiple factors beyond just the overall ranking. The availability of specific services—such as advanced imaging capabilities, maternal-fetal medicine specialists, anesthesia services, and surgical facilities—may be particularly important for families with specific medical needs or pregnancy complications.
Families should also consider practical factors such as hospital location and accessibility, visiting policies that accommodate their support systems, and the availability of particular birthing options or care approaches that align with their preferences. Additionally, confirming that the hospital participates in your insurance plan and understanding potential out-of-pocket costs can help families make informed financial decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions About Maternity Hospital Rankings
Q: How many hospitals were evaluated for Money’s 2025 maternity care rankings?
A: Money’s evaluation process initially assessed a large pool of hospitals based on CMS ratings and other quality metrics, ultimately selecting 75 hospitals for inclusion in the final Best Hospitals for Maternity Care rankings based on rigorous evaluation criteria and performance standards.
Q: What does Baby-Friendly® USA certification mean?
A: Baby-Friendly® USA designation indicates that a hospital has met rigorous international standards for supporting breastfeeding and infant-mother bonding. These hospitals follow evidence-based practices including skin-to-skin contact, unrestricted rooming-in, and breastfeeding support and education.
Q: Why is NICU level important when choosing a maternity hospital?
A: NICU level indicates the hospital’s capability to manage different complexities of newborn care. Families expecting premature infants or those with anticipated fetal complications may benefit from hospitals with higher-level NICUs capable of managing more complex cases.
Q: Does price transparency grade affect a hospital’s maternity care ranking?
A: No, price transparency grades are assigned separately and do not affect the order of maternity care rankings. Rankings are determined solely by quality of care metrics, ensuring that financial transparency is recognized without compromising the focus on clinical excellence.
Q: How often are the maternity hospital rankings updated?
A: Money updated its Best Hospitals for Maternity Care rankings in January 2025, reflecting the most current available data on hospital performance and maternity care quality. Rankings are updated annually to ensure families have the latest information.
References
- Women & Infants Hospital Ranks Third Nationally in Money’s Best Hospitals for Maternity Care 2025 List — Women & Infants Hospital. 2025. https://www.womenandinfants.org/news/women-infants-hospital-ranks-third-nationally-in-moneys-best-hospitals-for-maternity-care-2025-list-out-of-75-total-entries
- Schneck Medical Center Ranks in Money Magazine’s Best Hospitals for Maternity Care — Schneck Medical Center. 2025. https://www.schneckmed.org/blog/schneck-medical-center-ranks-in-money-magazines-best-hospitals-for-maternity-care
- How We Created Our Best Hospitals of 2025 Lists — Money. 2025. https://money.com/best-hospitals/methodology/
- Best Hospitals for Maternity Care — Money. 2025. https://money.com/best-hospitals/rankings/best-hospitals-for-maternity-care/
- How We Chose the Best Hospitals for Maternity Care — Money. 2025. https://money.com/best-hospitals/best-hospitals-maternity-care-methodology/
Similar Articles
Read full bio of Sneha Tete
