Eight Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals are designated as “2026 Best Hospitals for Maternity Care” by U.S. News & World Report for providing high-quality maternity care to patients.
The Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals to receive the prestigious honor include: Antioch, Manteca, Modesto, Redwood City, Roseville, San Jose, Santa Clara and Vacaville.
This is the highest award a hospital can earn as part of U.S. News’s Best Hospitals for Maternity Care annual study.
U.S. News recognizes hospitals that meet rigorous standards in caring for patients with uncomplicated pregnancies. These ratings are intended to help expectant parents, in consultation with their prenatal care team, make informed decisions about where to receive maternity services that best meet their family needs.
Last year, nearly 40,000 babies were delivered within Kaiser Permanente Northern California hospitals.
“Kaiser Permanente Northern California is continually recognized for providing high-quality, exceptional maternity care to families as they embark on this exciting time in their lives,” said Mike Bowers, FACHE, interim president of Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California region in a press release. “Our labor and delivery teams focus every day on caring for our patients in a warm and nurturing environment, providing them with a positive birth experience.”
Kaiser leaders credited the organizations “long-standing commitment to excellence in maternal health” for the honor.
“This recognition highlights the unwavering dedication of our physicians, midwives, nurses, and staff, who consistently provide high-quality care for parents and their newborns,” said Maria Ansari, MD, FACC, chief executive officer and executive director of The Permanente Medical Group. “We take great pride in delivering safe, compassionate, and exceptional maternity care, supporting parents through every stage—before, during, and after birth.”
U.S. News & World Report, began evaluating maternity care hospitals in 2021, rating hospitals that provide labor and delivery services and submit detailed data to the publication for analysis. The ranking comes after June rankings on other specialties with the Vacaville hospital rated “high performing” in caring for hip fractures.
This year, the national designation for maternity care was awarded to only 495 hospitals in the United States, or about 55 percent of the 899 hospitals that participated.