Joanne Curtis' happy place is a little unconventional. But for the mom of two, it's better than any spa, vacation or country club she's ever been to. It has marble floors and bathrooms that are nicer than the ones at her house. It serves a top-notch menu that includes filet mignon, sparkling cider and cheesecake. A place where amenities, like toothpaste, are replaced before you even realize you are running low.Which is why it might surprise you to learn that the "heaven" Curtis is describing is a hospital.Holy Name Medical Center is where Curtis delivered her first child in 2021 and her second in 2023. It is also where she was born more than three decades ago. This year, for the first time since Newsweek began releasing its ranking of America's Best Maternity Hospitals in 2022, the facility in Teaneck, New Jersey, appeared on the list, achieving five ribbons for its maternal care—the highest possible rank.This year's list, which recognizes 444 hospitals nationwide, was published in partnership with data firm Statista.Holy Name was recognized on America's Best Maternity Hospitals 2025 in part because the hospital's reputation has strengthened over previous years, Rafaela Wasserer, an analyst at Statista, told Newsweek. The medical center also achieved a remarkably high patient satisfaction score and its hospital quality metrics were within the top 10 percent of all evaluated hospitals this year."My experience was phenomenal. It was unbelievable," Curtis told Newsweek. "Think of the nicest place you've ever been to—anywhere that's all-inclusive where you come out feeling better than you did coming in—that's how I felt when I delivered both my kids."How The BirthPlace Personalizes Maternity CareHoly Name distinguishes its labor, delivery and postpartum care unit from the rest of the hospital by calling it "The BirthPlace."Michele Acito, the executive vice president and chief nursing officer at Holy Name, told Newsweek the designation of The BirthPlace "helps our community know that this is a really special time and for that, you need a special place to come to.""Yes, [patients] are pulling up to a large building but really, they're in a specific unit just for them," Acito said. "We don't want people who are coming here to have a baby to feel like they're part of an acute care hospital."Hearing Curtis describe what it was like to be a patient at Holy Name, you would think she was blessed with two of the easiest, most seamless deliveries in the hospital's history. But that's far from the case.As if childbirth isn't terrifying enough for a new mom, Curtis delivered her first baby during the pandemic. At the time, most hospitals imposed visitor limits and required heavy personal protective equipment. Curtis remembered that she couldn't see the faces of the doctors and nurses who helped bring her son into the world, but said she felt their energy in the room."Childbirth is like the most scary, most unpeaceful situation ever. Your body is freaking out, and somehow, there was just a sense of calm," she said. "I don't even have the words to explain it. I just knew everything was going to be okay and it was the staff that made me feel that way."Looking back, Curtis recognizes that she likely needed an emergency C-section, but expressed gratitude to the doctors who informed her that while it was an option, they could help her deliver the baby naturally, which she did, and which resulted in a shorter recovery for Curtis as well as lower medical costs."We've seen a change toward natural childbirth from where it was many years ago," Acito said. "We realize that is really the way it was meant to be and there's always a circumstance where that cannot happen—you may have some fetal distress or distress for the mom, and you may end up with a C-section or something like that—but we really encourage natural childbirth."The second time around, Curtis was forced to return to Holy Name early, when her water unexpectedly broke the month before her due date. Because she suddenly found herself in labor, Curtis had to have a second child delivered by a different OB/GYN. Then, during the delivery, the medical team discovered a cyst inside her uterus. After the birth, Curtis became alarmed when her daughter spit up a bit of blood.The 33-year-old mom praised the staff for being proactive in testing the cyst, which was found to be benign. She commended the hospital for having experienced OB/GYNs who are able to quickly build trust with patients who suddenly have to be treated by an alternate provider. She felt relieved that there was a Holy Name pediatrician immediately available to discuss monitoring her daughter for an extra 24 hours after the birth, then pleasantly surprised when the hospital routinely called her after they were discharged to check up on her new baby."I didn't have to do anything. They cooked for me, they cleaned for me, they dressed me," she said. "They really love their job. They really do in that place because they really do care about you as an individual. I'm no one special. I'm just a mom. It was unbelievable."The More Options, The BetterAcito said the Holy Name experience begins well before their patients feel their first contraction. It starts when they first meet with their OB/GYN to discuss their birth plan, and to lay out alternative plans in the case that things change. Holy Name also has a maternal-fetal medicine department where high-risk practitioners are on-call should they be needed."We all have a birth plan and we all think it's going to go one way, but knowing that things can go differently, being familiar with the faces [of the hospital] and understanding that we do offer a level two and a level three neonatal intensive care unit, I think really just make everybody comfortable," Acito said.Holy Name's NICU recently underwent a $3 million renovation. Its private rooms were also redone and each patient delivers and recovers in two separate rooms. The hospital is also constructing a separate building, one that will house all of its maternal health services, including the NICU, level two nursery and normal newborn nursery, with views of the New York City skyline. Currently, the maternity ward is located in one section of the hospital.Expecting moms are welcome to visit the BirthPlace for a stress test or speak with an OB/GYN if they have any fears about their pregnancy. If anything turns out to be amiss, they can be admitted into the unit, where they'll be surrounded by other people who are also expecting and who likely have concerns about their own pregnancies, rather than a regular emergency room that is treating all sorts of patients.The facility has OB/GYNs on-site at all hours of the day, and if a patient prefers to have a midwife deliver their baby, those services are available as well. Holy Name also offers lactation specialists and discharge nurses, who provide specialized education to new moms, and in recent years, has rolled out a doula policy to bring those professionals into the fold."For some first-time moms, they learn about doulas through social media or one of their friends, and they start to inquire about it in the obstetrician's office. We tell them right out of the gate, doulas are welcome. They are encouraged," Acito said. "We don't have too many restrictions for them. They are allowed in the operating room. They're encouraged to be with the patient throughout the entire birth and postpartum period."Although Curtis didn't use the hospital's doula services, she relied on the support of many of the nurses. At Holy Name, she was thrilled to discover there were so many bilingual nurses, including ones who could speak to her mother in Spanish. She was delighted by the diversity of the nursing staff, who all offered tips and tricks for postpartum recovery that they learned through their cultures."I took all their knowledge and I got to test it on myself," Curtis said, laughing. "It was kind of an experiment, like, 'Let me try this tea. Oh, let me try this chocolate bar.'""It was really cool to see these strong woman who had multiple kids and learn from them. You build a relationship with them," she said.Before she went home, Curtis followed all of them on social media. Now, she texts them every year on her kids' birthdays. She sends them pictures of her babies. She even sent one nurse a bottle of champagne. She tells them, "I literally owe you guys my life.""They've seen it all," she said about Holy Name. "They make you feel calm, even in a situation where, like my kid was stuck, like I knew something was wrong, but just the way that they were communicating and convincing me that everything's gonna be okay and it turned out okay.""I'm a huge Holy Name girl," Curtis said. "I can't think them enough, and if I have a third [baby], you know where I'm going."