One Southwest Missouri hospital was named to Newsweek’s 2021 list of best maternity hospitals in the country. KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.

Freeman Hospital in Joplin was named one of the best maternity hospitals by Newsweek magazine, which partnered with the non-profit Leapfrog Group to compile the best of 216 hospitals across 36 states. The list also included two other locations in Missouri, Mercy Hospital Jefferson in Fetus and Southeast Hospital in Cape Girardeau. Four of the hospitals named to the list are located in Oklahoma.

In contrast, there were no hospitals named in Kansas or Arkansas named to the list. Criteria considered for the best maternity hospitals in the U.S. have low C-section rates, episiotomy, and early elective deliveries and follow necessary protocols to protect moms and babies. This isn’t the first recent national recognition for Freeman. In 2020-2021, U.S. News & World Report named Freeman Health System the Best Hospital in Southwest Missouri. Doctors at the Freeman Hospitals Joplin deliver about 2,000 babies every year.