Staff at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston cares for newborns.

LEWISTON — Central Maine Medical Center has again been recognized as high performing in maternity care by U.S. News & World Report.

The publication began listing “Best Hospitals for Maternity” last year. CMMC is one of only two in Maine to garner the distinction this year.

To achieve a high performing rating, a hospital had to score significantly higher than average on a combination of eight quality measures. CMMC achieved high ranks on a number of fronts, including breast milk feeding for new infants.

According to U.S. News & World Report, “This hospital met criteria to be recognized as birthing-friendly because it participated in a quality improvement collaborative and implemented patient safety practices in order to improve maternal outcomes.”

The U.S. News & World Report ranking comes at a time that CMMC’s maternity department has welcomed and fully integrated new team members from St. Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston, which recently closed its maternity ward this summer.

“I am happy to have joined Central Maine’s women’s health team and to continue to serve the women of this community,” said Maureen Perdue, who was part of the St. Mary’s team that joined CMMC. “All providers, nurses and staff provide excellent, compassionate care during a very important and vulnerable time for women through pregnancy and childbirth. We are committed to continued excellence and plan more growth within our department to build on the need for resources for women in our community and the greater central Maine area.”