UCI Health rated among best U.S. maternity hospitals for second consecutive year

Orange, Calif. – UCI Health today was again named one of the nation's the best hospitals for maternity care for 2022-23, earning a "high-performing" rating, the highest available, by U.S. News & World Report.

It is the second year U.S. News has published the Best Hospitals for Maternity Care list. UCI Health has earned this designation both years.

“It’s an honor to be recognized again as one of the best hospitals for maternity care,” said UCI Health CEO Chad T. Lefteris.

“This recognition is based on the outstanding quality of care we provide and reflects our entire expert maternity program, including the providers in the hospital’s labor and delivery unit, our obstetricians and gynecologists, as well as our maternal-fetal medicine specialists, all of whom are committed to ensuring the highest level of care for expecting women.”

"We are gratified to receive this award," said Dr. Robert E. Bristow, professor and chair of the UCI School of Medicine’s Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology. “At UCI Health, we are dedicated to delivering the highest level of comprehensive care to every one of our patients."

Excellence in multiple metrics

To be recognized among the best maternity hospitals for uncomplicated pregnancies, hospitals had to excel in multiple quality metrics that matter to expectant families, including complication rates, caesarian births, whether births were scheduled too early in pregnancy and how successfully each hospital supported breastfeeding. In addition, they had to score significantly higher than the national average for eight quality measures.

In this second year, U.S. News added new measures to its assessment, including the rates of vaginal births after a previous caesarean birth and episiotomies — an incision to enlarge the vaginal opening just before delivery. Only 297 of the 649 hospitals evaluated by U.S. News for maternity care earned the "high-performing" rating.  

“All families deserve to be informed on how hospitals perform on key indicators of quality, which is why U.S. News has compiled and published a trove of maternal health data from hospitals across the country,” said Ben Harder, U.S. News managing editor and chief of health analysis.

“The hospitals we’ve recognized as high performing meet a high standard in caring for patients with uncomplicated pregnancies.”

A leader in OB-Gyn services

UCI Health has consistently been among the the nation's top hospitals for gynecology services, ranking No. 24 in the 2022-23 U.S. News America’s Best Hospitals report. UCI Health also earned the 2022 Maternity Honor Roll Award from the California Health and Human Services (CHHS) Agency, Hospital Quality Institute (HQI) and Cal Hospital Compare (CHC) for reducing births by cesarean section.

In addition, the academic health system was recognized by Newsweek magazine as one of America’s Best Maternity Care Hospitals for 2022, further reinforcing the unique role UCI Health plays in the region.

Unique to the U.S. News site, participating hospital profiles include a variety of relevant offerings for parents-to-be, including key measures of safety, services and amenities, such as private rooms, valet parking and child-birthing classes. Participating hospitals responded to a survey from the U.S. News health analysis team in spring 2022 with data from 2020. Participation was voluntary.

While this evaluation and rating is focused on hospital data relating to uncomplicated pregnancies, not high-risk pregnancies, UCI Health provides the only combined top-level perinatal and neonatal program in Orange County and is fully equipped with the latest technology and world-class specialists to manage high-risk pregnancies.

UCI Health is the clinical enterprise of the University of California, Irvine, and the only academic health system in Orange County. Patients can access UCI Health at primary and specialty care offices across Orange County and at its main campus, UCI Medical Center in Orange, Calif. The 459-bed acute care hospital, listed among America’s Best Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report for 22 consecutive years, provides tertiary and quaternary care, ambulatory and specialty medical clinics, behavioral health and rehabilitation services. UCI Medical Center is home to Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program and American College of Surgeons-verified Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma center and regional burn center. UCI Health serves a region of nearly 4 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.