Newsweek Ranks Mercy Birth Centers Among America's Best Maternity Hospitals in 2026

Mercy has more hospitals on the list than any other health care system in the states it serves

ST. LOUIS, April 22, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- It's official: Nobody does maternity care better than Mercy in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

Newsweek's just-released annual list of America's Best Maternity Hospitals includes six Mercy hospitals. Mercy has more birth centers on the list than any other health care system in the states it serves.

"We're proud to set the standard for maternity care in every community we serve," said Dr. Todd Glass, physician leader for Mercy Obstetrics. "There's no greater honor as a health care professional than being a part of the miracle of life when parents welcome a child into our world. We make it our mission to be the best of the best."

Newsweek used three data points to compile its list of top maternity hospitals this year: hospital quality metrics, patient experience and reputation score.

The data is pulled from public sources and recommendations from leading health care professionals in maternity care, including neonatal and perinatal physicians, nurses and midwives.

After crunching the numbers, four Mercy hospitals in Missouri made the list (Jefferson, Southeast, Springfield and St. Louis) along with the Mercy birthplaces in Northwest Arkansas and Oklahoma City.

Mercy offers a full range of maternity care, from preconception planning through pregnancy, delivery and postpartum care. Mercy also provides fertility care, infertility treatment, prenatal care, high-risk pregnancy care, genetic counseling and natural childbirth services.

Mercy OB-GYNs and other providers across the communities Mercy serves provide seamless access and referrals to other services for all medical needs.

Visit the Birthplace page on mercy.net to find a tour of a Mercy birth center near you.

About Mercy
Mercy, one of the 15 largest U.S. health systems and named the top large system in the U.S. for excellent patient experience by NRC Health, serves millions annually with nationally recognized care and one of the nation's largest and highest performing Accountable Care Organizations in quality and cost. Mercy is a highly integrated, multi-state health care system including 55 acute care and specialty (heart, children's, orthopedic and rehab) hospitals, convenient and urgent care locations, imaging centers and pharmacies. Mercy has over 1,000 physician practice locations and outpatient facilities, more than 5,000 physicians and advanced practitioners and more than 50,000 caregivers serving patients and families across Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma. Mercy also has clinics, outpatient services and outreach ministries in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. In fiscal year 2025 alone, Mercy provided more than half a billion dollars of free care and other community benefits, including traditional charity care and unreimbursed Medicaid.

SOURCE Mercy