Adventist HealthCare Shady Grove Medical Center in Rockville has been named one of America’s Best Maternity Hospitals for 2026 by Newsweek, making it the only hospital in Montgomery County and one of just 10 hospitals in Maryland to receive the recognition.
The rankings, compiled by Newsweek and research firm Statista, evaluated hospitals based on quality metrics, patient experience scores and surveys of medical professionals. “Choosing where to welcome your baby is one of the most important decisions a family can make,” said Joan Vincent, vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at Shady Grove Medical Center. “This honor reflects the extraordinary dedication of our physicians, nurses, neonatal specialists and support teams who care for thousands of families each year with compassion and clinical excellence.”
Shady Grove Medical Center provides maternity care throughout pregnancy, childbirth and recovery. Services include a Birth Center, postpartum care, a Level III neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), childbirth and parenting classes, lactation support and the adjacent Maternal Care Center, which provides prenatal care for the community.
The hospital also highlighted several programs that set its maternity services apart, including:
- Enhanced Recovery After Cesarean (ERAC) practices using the Joeyband®, allowing more mothers delivering by cesarean section to experience immediate skin-to-skin bonding with their babies in the operating room.
- CenteringPregnancy®, a group prenatal care model that combines medical care, education and peer support.
- Maryland’s only hospital-based Milk Depot, allowing nursing mothers to donate excess breast milk through a partnership with The King’s Daughters Milk Bank of Virginia.
- An award-winning donor breast milk program that provides hospitalized newborns with access to pasteurized donor milk when needed.
The maternity recognition follows several other recent quality honors for the hospital, including receiving an “A” Hospital Safety Grade from The Leapfrog Group.
Shady Grove Medical Center is the largest hospital in the Adventist HealthCare system and provides a wide range of services, including heart and neurological care, cancer treatment, behavioral health, pediatric services and joint replacement programs. More than 2,800 team members and 875 physicians serve patients at the Rockville hospital each year.
