21 PA Hospitals Named Among ‘Best’ For Maternity Care In New Report

The ranking of 680 hospitals nationwide is a guide for parents making one of the most important decisions of their lives — where their baby will be born. Each hospital participating in the U.S. News survey received a scorecard describing their performance on a checklist of items parents look for when choosing where to have their baby.

Jennifer Winston, a health data scientist for U.S. News, said the top hospitals in the survey are those with a “high performing” designation for care given to patients with uncomplicated pregnancies. These hospitals had Cesarean Section rates of 26 percent or lower and newborn complication rates of 37 percent or lower, Winston explained in a news release.

Of the 41 hospitals that participated in the U.S. News maternity services survey, the following 21 received the high performing designation:

• Einstein Medical Center Montgomery – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Midwives, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Perinatal Depression Screening and Services, Postpartum Depression Screening and Services
• Geisinger-Bloomsburg Hospital – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Midwives, Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Perinatal Depression Screening and Services, Postpartum Depression Screening and Services
• Independence Health System – Westmoreland Hospital – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Midwives, Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Postpartum Depression Screening and Services
• Jefferson Health-Abington Hospital – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Midwives, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Perinatal Depression Screening and Services, Postpartum Depression Screening and Services
• Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest – Offers Postpartum Depression Screening and Services, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Private Rooms or Suites, Childbirth Classes, Midwives, Immersive Tub Hydrotheraphy During Labor, Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants Available Before and/or After Discharge
• Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hazleton – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Midwives, Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Perinatal Depression Screening and Services, Postpartum Depression Screening and Services
• Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Midwives, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Perinatal Depression Screening and Services, Postpartum Depression Screening and Services
• Main Line Health Riddle Hospital – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Midwives, Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Perinatal Depression Screening and Services, Postpartum Depression Screening and Services
• Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center – Offers Postpartum Depression Screening and Services, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Private Rooms or Suites, Childbirth Classes
• UPMC Altoona – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Midwives, Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Perinatal Depression Screening and Services, Postpartum Depression Screening and Services
• UPMC Carlisle – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Midwives, Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Perinatal Depression Screening and Services
• UPMC Harrisburg – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Midwives, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Perinatal Depression Screening and Services, Postpartum Depression Screening and Services
• UPMC Horizon – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Midwives, Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Perinatal Depression Screening and Services, Postpartum Depression Screening and Services
• UPMC Lititz – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Midwives, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Perinatal Depression Screening and Services
• UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Midwives, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Perinatal Depression Screening and Services, Postpartum Depression Screening and Services, Immersive Hot Tub Therapy
• UPMC Memorial – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Midwives, Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Perinatal Depression Screening and Services, Postpartum Depression Screening and Services
• UPMC Williamsport – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Midwives, Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Perinatal Depression Screening and Services, Postpartum Depression Screening and Services
• WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Midwives, Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Perinatal Depression Screening and Services, Postpartum Depression Screening and Services
• WellSpan Ephrata Community Hospital – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Midwives, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Perinatal Depression Screening and Services, Postpartum Depression Screening and Services
• WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Perinatal Depression Screening and Services, Postpartum Depression Screening and Services
• West Penn Hospital – Offers Childbirth Classes, Private Rooms or Suites, Partner May Stay Overnight Post-Delivery, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Breastfeeding and Lactation Consultants, Perinatal Depression Screening and Services, Postpartum Depression Screening and Services

New to the rankings this year is the inaugural “Maternity Care Access Hospitals” list, which highlights 73 hospitals providing services in what otherwise would be maternity care deserts that have “left millions of people without local access to maternity care” in some parts of the country, Winston said.

In Pennsylvania, Maternity Care Access Hospitals are:

• UPMC Northwest
• Geisinger Lewistown Hospital
• Lehigh Valley Hospital-Schuylkill South Jackson Street
• WellSpan Good Samaritan Hospital
• UPMC Carlisle
• WellSpan Chambersburg Hospital
• Lehigh Valley Hospital-Pocono
• UPMC Williamsport

The hospitals are ranked on objective measures of quality. Including C-section rate, lower-risk pregnancies, newborn complication rates, exclusive breast milk feeding rates, early elective delivery rates, birthing-friendly practices and transparency on racial/ethnic disparities, among other measures. Read more about the methodology