Maternity Care Honor Roll, 2025
Of the 82 hospitals recognized in 2025, 46 have made the Honor Roll for the past three years, and 18 have maintained Honor Roll status for 10 consecutive years.
Introduction
In collaboration with the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) and CalHospitalCompare.org (CHC), the California Department of Healthcare Access and Information’s (HCAI) 2025 Maternity Care Honor Roll data visualization provides an overview of 82 California hospitals recognized for providing high quality maternity care in multiple ways while also driving continuous quality improvement.
Historically, the Maternity Care Honor Roll program had only recognized hospitals that met the statewide NTSV C-section target rate of 23.6%. The new maternity care composite measure, which summarizes data from multiple measures, expands the performance evaluation to hospitals meeting or exceeding standards in five maternal health metrics: nulliparous term singleton vertex (NTSV) C-section, surgical site infection after a C-section, vaginal birth after a C-section (VBAC), episiotomy, and early elective deliveries prior to 39 weeks gestational age.
Evidence suggests that the chance of having a C-section delivery largely depends on aspects such as where delivering occurs and the practice patterns of the obstetric care team. Even for low-risk, first-birth pregnancies, huge variations are noted in rates of C-sections at individual hospitals.
Overuse of C-sections can result in higher rates of complications like hemorrhage, transfusions, infection, and blood clots.1 The surgery also brings risks for babies, including higher rates of infection, respiratory complications, neonatal intensive care unit stays, and lower breastfeeding rates.
Key Findings
- Out of the 82 hospitals (41% of eligible hospitals) recognized in 2025, 46 (23.2% of eligible hospitals) have made the honor roll for the past three years, and 18 have maintained honor roll status for 10 consecutive years.
- 54 hospitals (27.3% of eligible hospitals) achieved Superior Performance by meeting or exceeding performance standards for all five maternal health metrics in 2025.
- An additional 28 hospitals (14.1% of eligible hospitals) in 2025 are identified as having basic performance by meeting or exceeding the statewide and Healthy People 2030 NTSV C-section target rate of 23.6% for low-risk, first time births.
- 38 hospitals have made the honor roll since 2022, and four hospitals have achieved honor roll status for the first time this year.
Visualization
Notes:
- A hospital with an asterisk indicates it has achieved the maternity care honor roll status 10 years running.
- Superior Performance = meeting or exceeding performance standards for all five maternal health metrics: nulliparous term singleton vertex (NTSV) C-section, surgical site infection after a C-section, vaginal birth after a C-section (VBAC), episiotomy, and early elective deliveries prior to 39 weeks gestational age.
- Basic Performance = meeting or exceeding the statewide and Healthy People 2030 NTSV C-section target rate of 23.6% for low-risk, first time births
How HCAI Created This Product
This data product was developed through a strategic partnership with the California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) and CalHospitalCompare.org (CHC) using HCAI’s Patient-Level Administrative Data. To learn more about the honor roll criteria, see the methodology report.
The visualization highlights key metrics from the 2025 California Maternity Honor Roll Fact Sheet, with all ratings based on the prior year’s data. This collaboration also supports the ongoing “My Birth Matters” educational campaign aimed at informing expectant mothers about cesarean delivery. The California Health and Human Services Agency announcement of the 2025 Maternity Care Honor Roll can be found here: Cal Hospital Compare Announces 2025 Maternity Care Honor Roll Hospitals.
Additional Information
Topic: Healthcare Utilization
Source Link: Healthcare Utilization – Patient-Level Administrative Data
Citation: HCAI — Patient Discharge Data 2024; CMQCC-Maternity Care Honor Roll, 2025
Temporal Coverage: 2023–2025
Spatial/Geographic Coverage: Statewide, County
Frequency: Annually