Hospitals to give birth in San Diego, CA

Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns delivers more babies than any other hospital in San Diego County and has the county's largest Level III NICU, which makes it a common choice for high-risk pregnancies. UC San Diego Health's Jacobs Medical Center in La Jolla pairs a Level III NICU with a midwife-staffed Birth Center and had a low-risk C-section rate well below the state average in 2025. Eight San Diego-area hospitals were rated High Performing in maternity care by U.S. News for 2026, so for a healthy pregnancy the best choice is usually the one where your OB or midwife delivers and that fits your insurance and commute.

San Diego labor and delivery hospitals compared

The rates below come from California Hospital Compare, using California Maternal Quality Care Collaborative (CMQCC) data for 2025. The C-section rate counts only low-risk, first-time births with a single, head-down, full-term baby, so it compares hospitals fairly. Lower is better. Hospitals that take many high-risk referrals can have higher rates because their patients are more complex.

Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns

Sharp Mary Birch, on Health Center Drive in Kearny Mesa, is a dedicated women's and newborn hospital. Sharp says it delivers the most babies in San Diego County, and it reported 6,756 live births in its 2026 Leapfrog survey. Its Level III NICU is the largest in the county. It offers high-risk pregnancy care and an Antenatal Diagnostic Center, and certified nurse-midwives attended about one in five births in 2025.

Its low-risk C-section rate (27.8%) is above the state average and its VBAC rate (12.1%) is below it. California Hospital Compare notes that hospitals treating many very high-risk patients can have higher C-section rates. If you're planning a VBAC, ask your OB how often it's supported for patients like you.

Best fit: high-risk pregnancies and babies likely to need intensive care.

UC San Diego Health: Jacobs Medical Center and Hillcrest

UC San Diego Health delivers babies at two campuses and says more than 5,000 babies are born there each year. It has been rated High Performing in maternity by U.S. News four years running, offers a free volunteer doula program, and both campuses have been Baby-Friendly designated since 2006.

• Jacobs Medical Center (La Jolla) has eight private labor and delivery rooms, three C-section rooms, three midwife-staffed Birth Center rooms, and a Level III NICU. Its 21.1% low-risk C-section rate was the third lowest in this guide.
• Hillcrest Medical Center has a Level II intermediate NICU, and patients who get prenatal care from the Hillcrest team of obstetricians and certified nurse-midwives can deliver with that team.

Both campuses made the 2025 California Maternity Honor Roll at the highest (Superior) tier.

Best fit: medical complications that call for subspecialists, families who want a midwife-attended birth with hospital backup, and anyone hoping for a low-intervention birth in the Birth Center.

Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla

Scripps La Jolla's Women's Center moved into the new North Tower in June 2025, with 18 private labor and delivery rooms (six with large soaking tubs) and 24 NICU beds, according to Times of San Diego. Scripps' OB-GYN chair told the paper that about 3,200 babies are delivered there each year. Certified nurse-midwives deliver here, and Rady Children's manages the Level III NICU. Midwives attended nearly a third of births in 2025.

Best fit: families in and around La Jolla who want a midwife option and on-site NICU care. If you're planning a VBAC, note its 2025 VBAC rate (12.1%) was below the state average.

Kaiser Permanente San Diego and San Marcos

For Kaiser members, delivery happens at one of two Kaiser hospitals: San Diego Medical Center on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard or San Marcos Medical Center in North County. The San Diego Medical Center has OB-GYNs and certified nurse-midwives in-house 24 hours a day, maternal-fetal medicine services, VBAC and a NICU. Midwives attended more than 40% of births at both hospitals in 2025, and San Diego Medical Center's VBAC rate (25.2%) was the highest in this guide.

Best fit: Kaiser members. Because Kaiser's hospitals serve its own members, this choice usually follows your insurance.

Sharp Mary Birch Grossmont (La Mesa)

The former Sharp Grossmont Hospital for Women & Newborns is now Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns Grossmont. It delivers nearly 3,000 babies a year and has a Level 3 NICU. Certified nurse-midwives currently work in its prenatal clinic and are gradually expanding into the hospital, which is why midwife-attended births are still rare here.

Best fit: East County families who want a dedicated women's hospital close to home.

Other San Diego County hospitals with labor and delivery

• Scripps Mercy Hospital San Diego (Hillcrest) has a Level II NICU where Scripps teams work with Rady Children's neonatologists, and it made the 2025 Maternity Honor Roll at the Superior tier. Scripps moved its Chula Vista obstetrics here in June 2024.
• Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas runs the Family Birth Pavilion, where you can choose a physician or a certified nurse-midwife, with a six-bed Level II NICU managed by Rady Children's. It was San Diego County's first Baby-Friendly birth center (designated since 2004), and it made the 2025 Honor Roll at the Superior tier.
• Sharp Mary Birch Center for Women & Newborns Chula Vista (formerly Sharp Chula Vista's maternity unit) is the South Bay's largest maternity provider, with private labor suites and a NICU.
• Palomar Medical Center Escondido (Palomar UC San Diego Health) runs the Escondido Birth Center with high-risk pregnancy care and a Level III NICU operated by Rady Children's. It had the lowest low-risk C-section rate in this guide (16.7%) and made the 2025 Honor Roll at the Superior tier.

Sharp Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside suspended labor and delivery in 2023, and after Sharp took over in July 2026 the hospital said it aims to deliver babies again later this year. Check with the hospital before counting on it.

How to choose a hospital to give birth in San Diego

1. Start with your OB or midwife. Many clinicians deliver at only one or two hospitals, and a Sharp or Scripps affiliation doesn't mean they deliver at every campus. Ask exactly where they attend births.
2. Check insurance for every bill. Confirm the hospital, anesthesia group and neonatology group are in network. Kaiser members deliver at Kaiser hospitals.
3. Match newborn care to your risk. If you're carrying multiples, have a condition like preeclampsia, or may deliver early, a Level III NICU on site means your baby is less likely to be moved after birth.
4. Compare the numbers that matter to you. For an unmedicated or low-intervention birth, look at midwife-attended births and the low-risk C-section rate. If you've had a C-section before, look at the VBAC rate, and read up on what a VBAC involves.
5. Drive it at rush hour. Freeway traffic can turn a short trip into a long one, and second labors are often faster.
6. Tour and ask about support people. Ask how many people can be with you in labor, whether your doula counts as a visitor, and where to check in at night.

Comparing other parts of Southern California? See the Southern California hospital guide and the Los Angeles guide.

FAQ

What is the best hospital for labor and delivery in San Diego?

It depends on what you need. For high-risk pregnancies, Sharp Mary Birch (the county's busiest maternity hospital and largest Level III NICU) and UC San Diego Health's Jacobs Medical Center are the usual first choices. For a low-risk birth, Scripps Encinitas, Palomar Escondido and Jacobs had the lowest low-risk C-section rates in 2025, and Kaiser's hospitals are the obvious choice for Kaiser members.

Does UC San Diego have a birth center?

Yes. UC San Diego Health's Birth Center is a set of three midwife-staffed rooms inside Jacobs Medical Center in La Jolla, designed for low-intervention births. Hydrotherapy is offered only in the Birth Center. If you decide you want an epidural or a complication comes up, you move to a labor and delivery room in the same building, and the midwife stays with you.

Are there freestanding birth centers in San Diego?

Fewer than there used to be. Best Start Birth Center, a well-known freestanding center, closed on March 31, 2024. If you want an out-of-hospital birth, a midwife near you can tell you which options are currently open. Keep in mind that many San Diego hospitals call their maternity units "birth centers" even though they're inside the hospital.

Is Rady Children's Hospital a labor and delivery hospital?

No. Rady Children's is a children's hospital, not a birth hospital: newborns who need its care are transferred there from the hospital where they were born. It runs San Diego's only Level 4 NICU, a 60-bed unit, and its teams also run or staff NICUs inside Scripps and Palomar hospitals and attend some high-risk deliveries.

Which San Diego hospitals have stopped delivering babies?

Scripps Mercy Chula Vista moved its obstetrics to Scripps Mercy San Diego in Hillcrest in June 2024, and Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside suspended labor and delivery in 2023. If an older hospital list mentions either one, check before you plan around it.

Many San Diego doulas regularly attend births at these hospitals. You can compare doulas near you on Bornbir, including doulas in San Diego, read their reviews, and message them directly. To budget, see what doulas cost in San Diego.