Four hospitals in Iowa, including one in Des Moines, have been named among the high performers for maternity care in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News analyzed 817 hospitals across the United States for seven metrics: rates for cesarean section, severe unexpected newborn complications, breast milk feeding, routine vaginal birth after cesarean deliveries and episiotomies and whether a hospital meets new federal criteria for “birthing-friendly” practices and tracks and reports outcomes for patients of different races and ethnicities.

Only half of evaluated hospitals were recognized as being among the best for maternity care.

The U.S. News ratings focused only on uncomplicated pregnancies and not high-risk ones, such as those involving mothers with diabetes or high blood pressure or who are pregnant with twins.

“The hospitals recognized by U.S. News as best hospitals for maternity care showcase exceptional care for expectant parents,” 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.”  

What Iowa hospitals were named best for maternity care by U.S. News?

The hospitals in Iowa City, Mason City and Cedar Rapids received excellent ratings for minimizing avoidable C-sections, with less than 24% occurring in connection with first-time, low-risk pregnancies at full term.

At MercyOne Des Moines, severe newborn complications were low compared to the other three hospitals, where complications occur at an average rate, U.S. News said. Severe newborn complications occur when full-term newborns with normal birth weight and no preexisting conditions are injured or develop infections.

The median hospital rate of severe newborn complications is 13 per 1,000 births, according to U.S. News.

MercyOne Des Moines, Mercy Medical Center Cedar Rapids and the University of Iowa Health Care Medical Center all have an episiotomy rate of less than 5%.  An episiotomy, a surgical cut made in the perineum during childbirth, is not recommended for routine use except in specific clinical cases.

The national and Midwest averages for babies exclusively breastfed during their hospital stay are 49% and 51%, respectively. The Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Mason City hospitals exceeded these averages, with Mercy Medical Center Cedar Rapids being the highest at 81%.

More: This Des Moines hospital was rated 5 stars by CMS. How do the others compare?

What other hospitals in the Midwest were named high-performing hospitals for maternity care by U.S. News?

Here are the number of hospitals recognized as high-performing for maternity care in states bordering Iowa.

Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.

Hoping to kick off 2025 with a productive showing, Iowa women’s basketball plays at Penn State on New Year’s Day. BTN+ will stream the noon contest.

The Hawkeyes (11-2, 1-1 Big Ten Conference) took down Purdue in their Big Ten home opener on Sunday. Iowa has won 10 straight over Penn State, with nine of those coming by double digits.

Meanwhile, Penn State (9-4, 0-2) had a decent run in the non-conference but has opened league play with losses to Indiana and Minnesota. The 90-54 stumble on Saturday against the Golden Gophers was a particularly ugly affair.

Here’s how to watch Iowa women’s basketball vs. Penn State on Wednesday, including streaming and radio info.

Watch Iowa women’s basketball vs. Penn State on BTN+ ($)

What channel is Iowa women’s basketball vs. Penn State on today?

Iowa vs. Penn State will stream on BTN+, which requires a subscription.

Iowa women’s basketball vs. Penn State time today

• Date:  Wednesday, Jan. 1  
• Start time:  noon CT

The Iowa women’s basketball vs. Penn State game starts at noon CT from Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pennsylvania.

Iowa women’s basketball schedule 2024-25

*Indicates Big Ten Conference game

• Nov. 6: vs. Northern Illinois (W, 91-73)
• Nov. 10: vs. Virginia Tech (W, 71-52)
• Nov. 13: vs. Toledo (W, 94-57)
• Nov. 17: at Drake (W, 86-73)
• Nov. 20: vs. Kansas (W, 71-58)
• Nov. 24: vs. Washington State (W, 72-43)
• Nov. 28: vs. Rhode Island (W, 69-62)
• Nov. 29: vs. BYU (W, 68-48)
• Dec. 7: vs. Tennessee (L, 78-68)
• Dec. 11: vs. Iowa State (W, 75-69)
• Dec. 15: at Michigan State (L, 68-66)
• Dec. 20: vs. Northern Iowa, (W, 92-86)
• Dec. 29: vs. Purdue (W, 84-63)
• Jan. 1: at Penn State*
• Jan. 5: vs. Maryland*
• Jan. 9: at Illinois*
• Jan. 12: vs. Indiana*
• Jan. 16: vs. Nebraska*
• Jan. 19: at Oregon*
• Jan. 22: at Washington*
• Jan. 28: vs. Northwestern*
• Feb. 2: vs. USC*
• Feb. 6: at Minnesota*
• Feb. 10: at Nebraska*
• Feb. 13: vs. Rutgers*
• Feb. 17: at Ohio State*
• Feb. 23: vs. UCLA*
• Feb. 26: at Michigan*
• March 2: vs. Wisconsin*
• Record: 11-2

We occasionally recommend interesting products and services. If you make a purchase by clicking one of the links, we may earn an affiliate fee. USA TODAY Network newsrooms operate independently, and this doesn’t influence our coverage. 

Dargan Southard is a sports trending reporter and covers Iowa athletics for the Des Moines Register and HawkCentral.com. Email him at msouthard@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Dargan_Southard.

Iowa State Cyclones’ head coach Bill Fennelly reacts from the bench during the fourth quarter against USC Upstate Spartans in the NCAA women’s basketball at Hilton Coliseum on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, in Ames, Iowa. © Nirmalendu Majumdar/Ames Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

 AMES — Bill Fennelly’s a self-described worrier. 

 “I worry about a lot of stuff,” said Iowa State’s veteran head coach, whose team (9-5, 0-1 Big 12) faces Kansas (10-2, 0-1) at 2 p.m. tomorrow in its Big 12 home opener at Hilton Coliseum. “That’s my number one trait, quality: I worry well,” Fennelly said.

 But — and you should have known a “but” was coming — the last thing Fennelly’s worried about as conference play kicks into high gear is the Cyclones’ resiliency.

 ISU has endured humbling losses to No. 2 South Carolina and seventh-ranked UConn, as well as a pair of six-point setbacks to No. 23 Iowa and 11-1 Oklahoma State. The Cyclones have fought back from steep deficits in almost all of their losses, however, and Fennelly said his leadership core formed by senior point guard Emily Ryan, center Audi Crooks, and guard/forward Addy Brown buoys his hopes that Big 12 season could still bring considerable success.

 “Obviously, moral victories don’t mean crap to anybody, but I think it shows that they’re gonna keep competing, and that’s kind of been the case all year,” Fennelly said. “Now, there’s competing and then there’s execution that comes with a level of effort.”

 In other words, hard work doesn’t always translate into positive results. ISU hopes that eventually its best efforts will lead to a string of victories that could start against a Jayhawks team that features dynamic playmaker S’Mya Nichols, who leads her team in scoring (21.4 points per game) and assists (4.9).

 The star sophomore point guard scored 16 points and had four assists in both meetings with the Cyclones last season, which the teams split.

 “S’Mya Nichols is a pro,” Fennelly said. “You look at her numbers and it’s staggering. … She’s got the ball in her hands a lot. She’s really, really good at what she does. And then defensively, (Kansas always has) smart pressure, man-to-man, physical defense, tough to score on.”

 So ISU is facing another formidable challenge — something they’ve embraced already by even scheduling teams such as South Carolina and UConn.

 “We knew what was coming,” said Brown, who ranks second on her team in scoring (14.1 points per game) and rebounding (7.3). “We knew what we signed up for. They’re both great teams and I think we needed to see that type of talent early on just to prepare for our conference.”

 Nineteen of those regular season Big 12 games remain — and ISU’s still poised to be a contender if its execution can match its effort.

 “We’ve had teams, we’ve had games (since) forever and I would walk out and say, ‘We really, really played hard,’” Fennelly said. “But if you don’t guard right (and) if you don’t make shots, you lose.”