Lehigh Valley, Pa. (December 13, 2024) – Five Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) hospitals and four Jefferson Health hospitals are receiving national recognition from U.S. News & World Report for providing high-quality care to new mothers and their babies.

Lehigh Valley Hospital (LVH), which includes LVH–Cedar Crest and LVH–Muhlenberg, as well as LVH–Schuylkill and LVH–Pocono, earned a high performing designation for maternity care for 2024-2025. Jefferson Einstein Philadelphia Hospital, Jefferson Einstein Montgomery Hospital, Jefferson Abington Hospital and Jefferson Washington Township Hospital also earned this recognition. LVH–Pocono, LVH–Schuylkill and LVH–Hazleton are designated as Maternity Care Access hospitals.

“I am incredibly proud of this achievement because it shows our community that access to safe, high-quality and compassionate maternity care is available close to home,” says Amanda Flicker, MD, Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Chief Medical Executive, Women’s Health Service Line, LVHN.  “Our dedicated colleagues work tirelessly to provide mothers and babies with the resources they need to thrive at all stages of pregnancy and postpartum. This tremendous recognition is shared by everyone at LVHN who makes excellent maternity care possible.”

High performing hospitals are graded on several factors, including unexpected newborn complication rates, birthing-friendly practices and transparency on racial or ethnic disparities. U.S. News also rates hospitals on C-section rates in lower-risk pregnancies, exclusive breastfeeding rates and early elective delivery rates.

Maternity Care Access Hospitals must meet U.S. News’ criteria for geographic isolation, number of obstetric providers per 10,000 births and hospital quality. Hospitals that receive this designation provide essential services to communities that would be in danger of becoming maternity care deserts if they stopped providing maternity care. Only 14% of all hospitals evaluated by U.S. News are Maternity Care Access Hospitals.

“The hospitals recognized by U.S. News as Best Hospitals for Maternity Care showcase exceptional care for expectant parents,” says Jennifer Winston, PhD, Health Data Scientist, U.S. News. “These hospitals demonstrate significantly lower C-section rates and severe unexpected newborn complications compared to hospitals not recognized by U.S. News.”

U.S. News evaluated 680 hospitals from across the country. Participants submitted detailed labor and delivery data for analysis. Fewer than half of all hospitals that submitted data received a high performing designation.