The 2025 Best Hospitals for Maternity Care for Uncomplicated Pregnancies results by U.S. News & World Report are now available, and Centra Virginia Baptist Hospital (VBH) was ranked as a High Performer.
This ranking aims to assist expecting families in making informed decisions about where to find high-quality labor and delivery services for uncomplicated pregnancies. VBH was also awarded the new designation of Maternity Care Access Hospital for recognition of providing care to patients who otherwise would not have access to maternity care.
According to Kim Price, vice president of Patient Experience and Women & Children’s Services at Centra, VBH delivers approximately 2,600 babies annually from Lynchburg and the surrounding region.
U.S. News evaluates hospital performance in childbirth based on several criteria, including C-section rates, newborn complication rates, breast milk feeding rates, early elective delivery rates, routine vaginal birth after cesarean delivery (VBAC) rates and episiotomy rates. Additionally, the evaluation considers whether hospitals meet new federal standards for "birthing-friendly" practices and whether they track and report outcomes for patients of different races and ethnicities.
"These achievements are the result of the hard work and dedication of our exceptional team of nurses, providers, volunteers and the steadfast support of our community," said Price. "Together, we are committed to delivering the highest quality care to families. Our community is incredibly fortunate to have such a devoted team working tirelessly to make a meaningful impact and help every family thrive."
Centra Virginia Baptist Hospital ranked as high performing in the uncomplicated pregnancy section in the following categories:
- Maternity Access Hospital: VBH was recognized in this category for providing care to patients who otherwise would not have access to maternity care.
- C-sections: VBH was ranked excellent at minimizing avoidable C-sections.
- Severe Newborn Complications: severe injury or infection complications were ranked rare at VBH.
- Breast Milk Feeding: 53.2% of babies were exclusively breastfed or fed breast milk during their hospital stay at VBH; the national average is 49%.
- Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC): VBAC support at VBH is 7.3% higher than the state average.
- Episiotomy: A cut made in the vagina during childbirth should rarely be performed; VBH's hospital episiotomy rate is less than 5%.
- Birthing-Friendly: Hospitals recognized as Birthing-Friendly have demonstrated their commitment to improving maternal outcomes by participating in quality improvement collaboratives. VBH met the criteria for being recognized as Birthing-Friendly because it participated in a quality improvement collaborative and implemented patient safety practices to improve maternal outcomes.
- Reports on Racial/Ethnic Disparities: VBH tracked and reported its race and ethnicity-specific performance on both c-section and severe unexpected newborn complications, for which racial and ethnic disparities may exist.
To see the complete list from U.S. News Best Hospitals for Maternity Care, visit https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/hospital-ratings/maternity