2024 list: New Jersey’s best hospitals for delivering a baby

🏥 According to a new list, not every NJ hospital is "best for maternity care"

🏥 The list looks at measures such as C-section rates and newborn complications

🏥 Expectant parents can use the list to help determine where to receive care

Maybe you don't want to give birth in just the closest hospital to your home.

A brand new list from U.S. News & World Report indicates that the care of your newborn can vary significantly from hospital to hospital.

The "Best Hospitals for Maternity Care" list is based on measures such as rates of C-sections, breast milk feeding, early elective deliveries, and newborn complications.

“These hospitals have C-section rates that are 26% lower, and newborn complication rates that are 37% lower than unrecognized hospitals that participated in the survey," said Jennifer Winston, health data scientist at U.S. News.

U.S. News also considered birthing-friendly practices in the hospitals, and whether facilities are transparent on racial/ethnic disparities.

U.S. News says their list is to meant to assist expectant parents, in consultation with their doctors, in making informed decisions about where to receive care.

New Jersey earned 19 entries on the 2024 list, and a couple entries include more than one hospital.

The list below is in no particular order — U.S. News & World Report does not rank the hospitals.

There are more New Jersey hospitals that make the cut than those that don't.

NJ's best hospitals for maternal care

Hackensack University Medical Center

⚫ Newborn complications: 2% to 2.6%

⚫ Fewer than 23.9% of low-risk full-term pregnancies were delivered by C-section

⚫ Transparent on racial/ethnic disparities, and recognized as Birthing-Friendly

Morristown Medical Center

⚫ Newborn complications: Fewer than 2% of lower-risk births

⚫ 58.5% of babies exclusively drank breast milk during their hospital stay

⚫ Excellent at minimizing avoidable C-sections

Overlook Medical Center (Summit)

⚫ Never or rarely schedules delivery earlier than recommended

⚫ 55.8% of babies exclusively drank breast milk during their hospital stay

⚫ Usually avoids C-sections

Jersey Shore University Medical Center (Neptune)

⚫ Routinely offers to support "vaginal birth after Cesarean"

⚫ 62.6% of babies exclusively drank breast milk during their hospital stay

⚫ Excellent at minimizing avoidable C-sections

Jefferson Health-Stratford/Cherry Hill/Washington Twp.

⚫ Never or rarely schedules delivery earlier than recommended

⚫ Routinely offers to support "vaginal birth after Cesarean"

⚫ Episiotomy rate (cut made in the vagina during birth) is low

Chilton Medical Center (Pompton Plains)

⚫ Newborn complications are rare

⚫ Routinely offers to support "vaginal birth after Cesarean"

⚫ Transparent on racial/ethnic disparities, and recognized as Birthing-Friendly

Clara Maass Medical Center (Belleville)

⚫ Newborn complications are very rare

⚫ Episiotomy rate (cut made in the vagina during birth) is low

⚫ Excellent at minimizing avoidable C-sections

Community Medical Center-Toms River

⚫ Never or rarely schedules delivery earlier than recommended

⚫ Newborn complications are rare

⚫ Excellent at minimizing avoidable C-sections

Englewood Hospital

⚫ 47.4% of babies exclusively drank breast milk during their hospital stay

⚫ Newborn complications are rare

⚫ Excellent at minimizing avoidable C-sections

Monmouth Medical Center-Long Branch Campus

⚫ Never or rarely schedules delivery earlier than recommended

⚫ Newborn complications are very rare

⚫ Routinely offers to support "vaginal birth after Cesarean" and excellent at minimizing avoidable C-sections

Newton Medical Center

⚫ Transparent on racial/ethnic disparities, and recognized as Birthing-Friendly

⚫ 47.4% of babies exclusively drank breast milk during their hospital stay

⚫ Excellent at minimizing avoidable C-sections

Ocean University Medical Center (Brick)

⚫ Never or rarely schedules delivery earlier than recommended

⚫ 47% of babies exclusively drank breast milk during their hospital stay

⚫ Excellent at minimizing avoidable C-sections

Palisades Medical Center (North Bergen)

⚫ Newborn complications are very rare

⚫ Transparent on racial/ethnic disparities, and recognized as Birthing-Friendly

⚫ Routinely offers to support "vaginal birth after Cesarean" and excellent at minimizing avoidable C-sections

Raritan Bay (Perth Amboy) and Old Bridge Medical Centers

⚫ Newborn complications are very rare

⚫ Episiotomy rate (cut made in the vagina during birth) is low

⚫ Routinely offers to support "vaginal birth after Cesarean" and excellent at minimizing avoidable C-sections

Riverview Medical Center (Red Bank)

⚫ Never or rarely schedules delivery earlier than recommended

⚫ 53.6% of babies exclusively drank breast milk during their hospital stay

⚫ Routinely offers to support "vaginal birth after Cesarean" and excellent at minimizing avoidable C-sections

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Somerset (Somerville)

⚫ Newborn complications are very rare

⚫ Transparent on racial/ethnic disparities, and recognized as Birthing-Friendly

⚫ Routinely offers to support "vaginal birth after Cesarean" and excellent at minimizing avoidable C-sections

Southern Ocean Medical Center (Manahwakin)

⚫ Newborn complications are very rare

⚫ Transparent on racial/ethnic disparities, and recognized as Birthing-Friendly

⚫ Excellent at minimizing avoidable C-sections

Virtua Mount Holly Hospital

⚫ Episiotomy rate (cut made in the vagina during birth) is low

⚫ Transparent on racial/ethnic disparities, and recognized as Birthing-Friendly

⚫ Routinely offers to support "vaginal birth after Cesarean" and excellent at minimizing avoidable C-sections

Virtua Voorhees Hospital

⚫ 54% of babies exclusively drank breast milk during their hospital stay

⚫ Never or rarely schedules delivery earlier than recommended

⚫ Routinely offers to support "vaginal birth after Cesarean" and excellent at minimizing avoidable C-sections

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