Yonique Jackson gave birth to her daughter Gy’dence at Rochester General in November. It was her first time delivering at this hospital and she described the unit as a “safe place for moms and babies.”
“They listen to me, they understand me, they made sure I was good, mentally, physically, emotionally,” Jackson said about the staff. “And they took care of Gy’dence.”
Jackson went into pre-term labor with a C-section delivery, having previously delivered via C-section at Strong. She said the staff kept her at ease.
“They just make sure that I'm comfortable and asked me questions before they did anything, a test or anything,” she said.
This is the work culture and environment that Dr. Elizabeth Bostock has tried to foster throughout her six years of leading women’s health for Rochester Regional Health. Under her supervision, the hospital's C-section rate dropped from 40% for new mothers to 25%, and maternity care, including breastfeeding, excelled.
“A big part of it is that we continue to have good outcomes for people of different races, and are closing the health equity gap,” Bostock said.
As a result, Rochester General is listed as one of the best hospitals for maternity care by the U.S. News and World Report for 2026, and the only Rochester hospital rated as "High Performing” in national maternity care.
“It's a recognition of the incredible work that we're doing here to create safer, more patient centered births for our community,” Bostock said. “And answer our community's call to do better, to create births that are joyful experiences.”
U.S. News based its analysis on data collected by the nonprofit Leapfrog Group, which reports on hospital performance. Highland and Strong did not respond to the group’s survey.
The group's latest report found that C-section rates for low-risk first time mothers had been improving since 2017, but that progress had regressed since 2020 and largely stalled nationally around 25%. Only 40% of hospitals meet the target rate of 23.6%, according to the report. Race and ethnicity are a factor and is most evident when comparing non-Hispanic Black and non-Hispanic white patients, with the report finding disparities at one in five hospitals surveyed.
While C-section rates at RGH are down, they're main higher than the target rate and higher than that of other area hospitals including Highland (21%), Unity (19.6%), F.F. Thompson in Canandaigua (20.6%), Newark-Wayne (14.4%), according to Leapfrog.
Highland and Strong are listed as not responding to the Leapfrog survey.
Highland has gone from 24.6% in three in fiscal year 2023, to 21% this year, according to a hospital spokesperson. Strong Memorial Hospital is at 28%--down from 31% two years ago, a hospital spokesperson said.
Hospital officials note, though, that UR Medicine’s Maternal Fetal Medicine service and the Level IV Golisano Children’s Hospital neonatal intensive care unit make it a destination for the region’s most medically complex pregnancies.
The specific measure for C-section rates is first-time mothers, carrying full-term with one baby, excluding breech deliveries. That does not account for other complications, however, such as heart disease, uncontrolled diabetes, or other series of medical issues or complications such as birth defects that might increase the need for C-sections, the Strong spokesperson said.
Bostock noted that Rochester General Hospital’s rate is higher because it serves as the referral center for the highest-risk pregnancies. She said, “that concentration of complex cases allows our other hospitals to maintain substantially lower rates.”
“We do this work every day because it's the work we love to do, and we do it to the best of our ability,” Bostock said. “To know that our best is providing these kinds of results for our community is just an incredible reward for the work we do.”
Bostock said the goal is to progressively design interventions that will lower the numbers every year.
