These Hospitals Are The Best Places To Have A Baby In CA: U.S. News

CALIFORNIA — Where to have a baby is one of the most important decisions California parents make. To help guide them, U.S. News & World Report has released its 2025 Best Hospitals for Maternity Care.

U.S. News said an all-time high of 817 hospitals providing labor and delivery care were evaluated, but only about half met the criteria for the list. Of those selected hospitals, only seven made it to the Maternity Care Access Hospital list. Maternity access hospitals listed serve expectant parents who might not otherwise be able to get prenatal and delivery care, according to U.S. News & World Report.

In California, 99 maternity care hospitals were evaluated against the Best Hospitals for Maternity Care criteria. Of those, 71 hospitals met the requirements as high performing maternity hospitals:

• Anaheim, Los Angeles Metro: Kaiser Permanente Anaheim and Irvine Medical Centers
• Antioch, San Francisco Metro: Sutter Delta Medical Center
• Apple Valley, Riverside-San Bernardino Metro: Providence St. Mary Medical Center
• Arcadia, Los Angeles Metro: USC Arcadia Hospital
• Bakersfield, Bakersfield Metro: Adventist Health Bakersfield
• Bakersfield, Bakersfield Metro: Bakersfield Memorial Hospital
• Bakersfield, Bakersfield Metro: Mercy Hospitals of Bakersfield
• Baldwin Park, Los Angeles Metro: Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park Medical Center
• Berkeley, San Francisco Metro: Alta Bates Summit Medical Center-Berkeley
• Burbank, Los Angeles Metro: Providence St. Joseph Medical Center-Burbank
• Burlingame, San Francisco Metro: Mills-Peninsula Medical Center
• Castro Valley, San Francisco Metro: Eden Medical Center
• Chico: Enloe Medical, Maternity Access Hospital
• Chula Vista, San Diego Metro: Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center
• Colton, Riverside-San Bernardino Metro: Arrowhead Regional Medical Center
• Corona, Riverside-San Bernardino Metro: Corona Regional Medical Center
• Covina, Los Angeles Metro: Emanate Health Queen of The Valley Hospital
• Crescent City: Sutter Coast Hospital, Maternity Access Hospital
• Davis, Sacramento Metro: Sutter Davis Hospital
• Delano, Bakersfield Metro: Adventist Health-Delano, Maternity Access Hospital
• Downey, Los Angeles Metro: Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center
• Encinitas, San Diego Metro: Scripps Memorial Hospital-Encinitas
• Escondido, San Diego Metro: Palomar Medical Center Escondido
• Eureka: Providence St. Joseph Hospital Eureka
• Fairfield: NorthBay Medical Center
• Fontana, Riverside-San Bernardino Metro: Kaiser Permanente Fontana and Ontario Medical Centers
• Fountain Valley, Los Angeles Metro: MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center
• Fresno, Fresno Metro: Community Regional Medical Center
• Fullerton, Los Angeles Metro: Providence St. Jude Medical Center
• Glendale, Los Angeles Metro: Adventist Health Glendale
• Glendale, Los Angeles Metro: USC Verdugo Hills Hospital
• Harbor City, Los Angeles Metro: Kaiser Permanente South Bay Medical Center
• Jackson: Sutter Amador Hospital
• La Jolla, San Diego Metro: Scripps La Jolla Hospitals
• La Mesa, San Diego Metro: Sharp Grossmont Hospital
• Laguna Hills, Los Angeles Metro: MemorialCare Saddleback Medical Center
• Lakeport: Sutter Lakeside Hospital, Maternity Access Hospital
• Loma Linda, Riverside-San Bernardino Metro: Loma Linda University Children's Hospital
• Long Beach, Los Angeles Metro: MemorialCare Miller Children's and Women's Hospital Long Beach
• Los Angeles, Los Angeles Metro: Adventist Health-White Memorial
• Los Angeles, Los Angeles Metro: Los Angeles: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
• Los Angeles, Los Angeles Metro: Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center
• Los Angeles, Los Angeles Metro: Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center
• Los Angeles, Los Angeles Metro: Kaiser Permanente West Los Angeles Medical Center
• Los Angeles, Los Angeles Metro: PIH Health Good Samaritan Hospital
• Los Angeles, Los Angeles Metro: UCLA Medical Center
• Los Banos, Memorial Hospital Los Banos, Maternity Access Hospital
• Martinez, San Francisco Metro: Contra Costa Regional Medical Center
• Mission Hills, Los Angeles Metro: Providence Holy Cross Medical Center
• Mission Viejo, Los Angeles Metro: Providence Mission Hospital-Mission Viejo and Laguna Beach
• Modesto, Modesto Metro: Memorial Medical Center-Modesto
• Moreno Valley, Riverside-San Bernardino Metro: Kaiser Permanente Moreno Valley Medical Center
• Moreno Valley, Riverside-San Bernardino Metro: Riverside University Health System-Medical Center
• Mountain View, San Jose Metro: El Camino Health-Mountain View
• Murrieta, Riverside-San Bernardino Metro: Loma Linda University Medical Center-Murrieta
• Murrieta, Riverside-San Bernardino Metro: Southwest Healthcare System-Murrieta
• Napa: Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center
• Newport Beach, Los Angeles Metro: Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
• Orange, Los Angeles Metro: Providence St. Joseph Hospital-Orange
• Orange, Los Angeles Metro: UCI Medical Center
• Palm Springs, Riverside-San Bernardino Metro: Desert Regional Medical Center
• Palo Alto, San Jose Metro: Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford
• Panorama City, Los Angeles Metro: Kaiser Permanente Panorama City Medical Center
• Pasadena, Los Angeles Metro: Huntington Health Medical Center-Pasadena
• Pleasanton, San Francisco Metro: Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley
• Pomona, Los Angeles Metro: Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center
• Rancho Mirage, Riverside-San Bernardino Metro: Eisenhower Medical Center
• Redlands, Riverside-San Bernardino Metro: Redlands Community Hospital
• Riverside, Riverside-San Bernardino Metro: Kaiser Permanente Riverside Medical Center
• Roseville, Sacramento Metro: Sutter Roseville Medical Center
• Sacramento, Sacramento Metro: Methodist Hospital of Sacramento
• Sacramento, Sacramento Metro: Sutter Medical Center-Sacramento
• Sacramento, Sacramento Metro: UC Davis Medical Center
• Salinas: Natividad Medical Center
• Salinas: Salinas Valley Health Medical Center
• San Diego, San Diego Metro: Kaiser Permanente San Diego Zion and San Diego Medical Center
• San Diego, San Diego Metro: Scripps Mercy Hospital
• San Diego, San Diego Metro: Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women and Newborns
• San Diego, San Diego Metro: UC San Diego Health-La Jolla and Hillcrest Hospitals
• San Francisco, San Francisco Metro: California Pacific Medical Center-Van Ness Campus
• San Francisco, San Francisco Metro: UCSF Health-UCSF Medical Center
• San Jose, San Jose Metro: Santa Clara Valley Medical Center
• Santa Cruz: Sutter Maternity and Surgery Center of Santa Cruz
• Santa Monica, Los Angeles Metro: Providence Saint John's Health Center
• Santa Monica, Los Angeles Metro: UCLA Santa Monica Medical Center
• Santa Rosa: Providence Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital
• Santa Rosa: Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital
• South Lake Tahoe, Sacramento Metro: Barton Memorial Hospital, Maternity Access Hospital
• Sylmar, Los Angeles Metro: Olive View-UCLA Medical Center
• Torrance, Los Angeles Metro: Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center Torrance
• Torrance, Los Angeles Metro: Torrance Memorial Medical Center
• Tracy, Stockton Metro: Sutter Tracy Community Hospital
• Truckee: Tahoe Forest Hospital District, Maternity Access Hospital
• Upland, Riverside-San Bernardino Metro: San Antonio Regional Hospital
• Ventura, Oxnard Metro, Community Memorial Hospital-Ventura
• Visalia: Kaweah Health Medical Center
• Walnut Creek, San Francisco Metro: John Muir Health-Walnut Creek Medical Center
• Whittier, Los Angeles Metro: PIH Health Hospital-Whittier
• Woodland Hills, Los Angeles Metro: Kaiser Permanente Woodland Hills Medical Center

A total of 10 California metropolitan areas, listed in alphabetical order, have the greatest number of Best Hospitals for Maternity Care in the U.S.:

1. Chicago
2. Dallas-Fort Worth
3. Denver
4. Detroit
5. Los Angeles
6. New York
7. Philadelphia
8. Riverside-San Bernardino, California
9. San Francisco
10. Seattle

Among the hospitals evaluated in California metro areas:

• Inland Empire, 14 hospitals evaluated, 11 included on the list.
• Los Angeles: 35 hospitals evaluated, 22 included on the list.
• San Francisco: 9 hospitals evaluated, 8 included on the list.

Jennifer Winston, U.S. News & World Report’s health data scientist, said in a news release the 2025 list is the most comprehensive since the ratings began in 2021.

“These high-performing hospitals showcase exceptional care for expectant parents, demonstrating significantly lower C-section rates and severe unexpected newborn complications compared to hospitals not recognized by U.S. News,” Winston said in a news release.

According to U.S. News, hospitals on the list:

• Are 47 percent more likely to be designated as “Baby-Friendly” by Baby Friendly USA, indicating a hospital has taken important steps to support breastfeeding;
• Have C-section rates 22 percent lower compared with maternity care hospitals not recognized by U.S. News;
• Have severe unexpected newborn complication rates 44 percent less often compared with maternity care hospitals not recognized by U.S. News;
• Have episiotomy rates 33 percent lower compared with maternity care hospitals not recognized by U.S. News;
• Have breast milk feeding rates 12 percent higher compared with maternity care hospitals not recognized by U.S. News;
• Are 13 percent more likely to report race/ethnicity data for both C-section and severe unexpected newborn complications compared with maternity care hospitals not recognized by U.S. News.

The list is based entirely on objective measures of quality, such as C-section rates in lower-risk pregnancies, severe unexpected newborn complication rates, exclusive breast milk feeding rates, birthing-friendly practices and reporting on racial/ethnic disparities, among other measures.