Five UNC Health hospitals across North Carolina have been recognized for providing top maternity care by U.S. News & World Report.
Five UNC Health hospitals across North Carolina have been recognized for providing top maternity care by U.S. News & World Report. The hospitals on U.S. News 2026 list of the nation’s “Best Hospitals for Maternity Care,” announced today, include:
- UNC Hospitals, Chapel Hill
- UNC Health Rex, Raleigh
- UNC Health Nash, Rocky Mount
- UNC Health Chatham, Siler City
- UNC Health Southeastern, Lumberton
U.S. News named these five hospitals as “High Performing” for maternity care. That is the highest award a hospital can earn as part of U.S. News’ Best Hospitals for Maternity Care annual study, now in its fifth edition.
In addition, UNC Health Nash, UNC Health Appalachian and UNC Health Southeastern earned the “Maternity Care Access” designation from U.S. News. That distinction recognizes quality care provided to regions that, if not for the award-winning hospital, would be maternity deserts.
“UNC Health is proud to help bring thousands of babies across our state into the world every year, and to be part of such an important and precious moment for parents,” said Dr. Cristy Page, CEO of UNC Health. “Our physicians and maternity care teams work hard to provide families with critical prenatal, labor and delivery, postpartum, and pediatric care.”
U.S. News began evaluating maternity care hospitals in 2021, rating hospitals that provide labor and delivery services and submit detailed data to the publication for analysis.
For the U.S. News 2026 edition, approximately 900 hospitals nationwide submitted maternity data for evaluation. Best Hospitals for Maternity Care ratings are intended to assist expectant parents, in consultation with their prenatal care providers, in making informed decisions about where to receive maternity services that best meet their family’s needs.
UNC Health’s hospitals earned top marks for maternity care as measured by factors such as C-section rates in lower-risk pregnancies, severe unexpected newborn complication rates, exclusive breast milk feeding rates, and birthing-friendly practices, among other measures.
“Hospitals designated as a U.S. News Best Hospital for Maternity Care are national leaders. This recognition means they are consistently hitting crucial patient safety benchmarks compared to other hospitals,” said Jennifer Winston, health data scientist at U.S. News. “It’s a clear signal to expectant parents about where the highest standards of care are being practiced – when parents see this designation, they can be assured they are choosing a hospital dedicated to exceptional, evidence-based maternity care.”
For more information on U.S. News’ annual list, visit Best Hospitals for Maternity Care and use #BestMaternityHospitals on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X.
About UNC Health
UNC Health is a state entity and an affiliated enterprise of the University of North Carolina system, comprised of 20 hospitals and the clinical patient care programs of the UNC School of Medicine. It exists to improve the health and well-being of North Carolinians and others we serve and to further the teaching mission of the UNC School of Medicine. Our hospitals have received numerous awards and recognition for quality care, patient safety and the overall patient experience. For more information, please visit unchealth.org.