UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester is the best hospital for maternity care in Central Massachusetts, according to U.S. News & World Report.
On Tuesday, U.S. News released its 2026 Best Hospitals for Maternity Care for uncomplicated pregnancy, with UMMC being the region’s only hospital to be named amongst the state’s top 10 facilities.
“UMass Memorial Health is honored that UMass Memorial Medical Center has been named among the nation’s Best Hospitals for Maternity Care by U.S. News & World Report. This recognition underscores our system’s unwavering commitment to providing high-quality, patient-centered maternity care to all families across central Massachusetts. We are especially grateful to our caregivers, whose dedication, expertise, and commitment made this achievement possible,” UMass Memorial Health wrote in an email to WBJ.
U.S. News analyzed six patient outcomes and hospital process measures to determine each state’s highest-performing hospitals, including rates of C-sections, severe unexpected newborn complications, and episiotomies, and commitment to exclusive breast milk feeding, according to the publication’s methodology.
While C-sections are essential with certain health conditions and when it’s unsafe to deliver vaginally, lower rates of cesarean births are favored due to the procedure’s possible complications, such as hemorrhaging, infection, and injury.
UMMC reported a lower-than-average C-section rate for first-time, low-risk pregnancies at full term: between 23.9% and 27%. The nation’s rate of C-sections in 2023 was 32.3%, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Along with Mississippi and New York, Massachusetts is among the top three states with the highest C-section rates in the nation, according to The Leapfrog Group, a Washington D.C.-based watchdog nonprofit. Nebraska has the lowest rate at 18.8%.
UMMC also provided higher-than-average support for vaginal births after cesarean and rarely reported severe newborn complications.
Nearly 45% of babies at UMMC were exclusively breast fed or fed breast milk during their hospital stay, a figure slightly above the Northeast’s average of 43.3% and slightly below the nation’s average of 49%. U.S. News states breastfeeding supports a baby’s immune system and brain development while potentially safeguarding against conditions such as allergies and asthma.
UMMC had an episiotomy rate of less than 5%; an episiotomy is a surgical procedure done to widen the vaginal opening by making an incision to the perineum, the area between vaginal opening and anus. The procedure is no longer routinely recommended, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Still, the facility’s rate is higher than the nation’s average, which is 3.4%, according to The Leapfrog Group.
Overall, the demographics of babies delivered at UMMC were comparable to the demographics of the community. The hospital’s representation of non-white, Black, and Hispanic births met or exceeded the community’s composition.
However, its representation of Asian American births was moderately lower than the community’s and its representation of multiple race/ethnicity births was substantially lower, with the hospital reporting a 0.0% rate of multiple race/ethnicity births.
The nine other best hospitals for maternity in Massachusetts are below:
- Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston
- Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston
- Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton
- Emerson Hospital in Concord
- Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge
- Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Newton
- Salem Hospital
- Southcoast Hospitals Group in Fall River
- Winchester Hospital
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
