Finding Care in New York

Regional Perinatal Centers in New York: When Delivering at One Matters

By the Find Her Doctor editorial team · Updated November 1, 2026 · 5 min read

A Regional Perinatal Center (RPC) is a hospital the New York State Department of Health has designated to provide the highest level of care for pregnant patients and newborns in its region. Most healthy pregnancies don't need one. But if you or your baby is expected to need intensive care, your provider may recommend planning your delivery at an RPC from the start.

This usually comes up at a specific moment: an ultrasound finding, a diagnosis like preeclampsia, a twin pregnancy that gets complicated. Suddenly someone says "you should deliver at a higher-level center," and you're googling what that means. Here's the plain version.

New York's four perinatal levels

New York organizes maternity and newborn care into regions. Each region is led by an RPC that supports the other hospitals.

RPCs also train staff at other hospitals, review outcomes, and accept transfers of patients and newborns who need more care. So even if you deliver somewhere else, an RPC is often quietly part of the safety net.

Which NYC-area hospitals are RPCs

The NYS Department of Health's Regional Perinatal Center grant program lists these grantees in our coverage area:

• Manhattan: Bellevue Hospital Center; Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (The Mount Sinai Hospital); NYU Langone Hospitals
• Bronx: Montefiore Medical Center
• Brooklyn: Maimonides Medical Center; SUNY Downstate (University Hospital of Brooklyn)
• Queens: Long Island Jewish Medical Center (New Hyde Park, on the Queens/Nassau border)
• Nassau: North Shore University Hospital
• Suffolk: Stony Brook University Hospital
• Westchester: Westchester Medical Center

NewYork-Presbyterian also states that its Columbia University Irving Medical Center and Weill Cornell Medical Center campuses in Manhattan are designated RPCs, and the Department of Health's hospital profile site lists NYU Langone Hospital-Long Island in Mineola as an RPC.

Designations are updated over time, and New York has been revising its perinatal standards. To check a specific hospital, use the NYS DOH Hospital Profiles site and search "Designated Centers."

Bellevue is part of NYC Health + Hospitals, the city's public system, which serves patients regardless of insurance or immigration status. That's worth knowing if coverage is a worry.

When delivering at an RPC may be recommended

Your OB/GYN or maternal-fetal medicine specialist may suggest planning birth at an RPC or Level 3 hospital if:

• You're at high risk of a very early preterm birth
• Your baby has a birth defect found on ultrasound that may need surgery or intensive care soon after birth
• You're expecting twins with complications, or triplets or more
• You have a serious medical condition, such as significant heart disease, severe preeclampsia, or a bleeding or clotting disorder
• Your ultrasound suggests placenta accreta spectrum, which can cause major bleeding at delivery

ACOG and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine describe a similar idea in their Levels of Maternal Care: matching the hospital's resources to the mother's risk, not only the baby's. A common misconception is that the NICU level is the only thing that matters. For a parent with heart disease or a suspected accreta, the adult side (blood bank, anesthesia, ICU) matters just as much.

When it may not matter

If your pregnancy is healthy, a Level 1 or 2 hospital closer to home, or one with strong midwifery care, is usually a good choice. Being close to home counts for a lot: prenatal visits every week or two near the end, getting there in labor, and having family nearby afterward. If something unexpected happens, your hospital can transfer you or your baby.

Many people ask whether they should pick an RPC "just in case." For a low-risk pregnancy, that usually trades real day-to-day convenience for a small theoretical benefit, and the regional transfer system already covers the rare emergency.

A planning checklist if you're high risk

1. Ask directly: "Should I plan to deliver at a hospital with a higher-level NICU? Which ones would you suggest?"
2. Check where your OB/GYN delivers. If you need an RPC and your doctor doesn't have privileges there, you may need to transfer care. Earlier is easier. See switching OB/GYNs during pregnancy.
3. Confirm insurance for the hospital, the MFM team and neonatology. They're often billed separately, so ask about each one.
4. Call or tour the labor unit. Ask about the NICU, how many support people can stay, lactation help, and where parents sleep if the baby is admitted.
5. Plan the trip for real. Map it at rush hour, not at 2 a.m. In the third trimester, a subway ride with transfers and stairs can feel very different. Long Island and Hudson Valley patients may live 30 minutes or more from the nearest RPC, so decide in advance who's driving and when you'll leave.
6. Write down your hospital and MFM numbers and keep a copy of your prenatal records on your phone, in case you end up at a different hospital.

For hospital-by-hospital details, our guides to giving birth in Manhattan and on Long Island cover more, and we have similar guides for each borough.

Newborn intensive care and transfers

Even with a healthy pregnancy, about one in ten babies in the U.S. is born preterm, according to the CDC, and some full-term babies need extra care after birth. That's why New York's system links hospitals together:

• Level 1 hospitals care for healthy newborns and can stabilize a sick baby while arranging transfer.
• Level 2 and 3 hospitals have NICUs that can care for many premature or sick babies.
• Regional Perinatal Centers take the smallest and sickest babies and those needing surgery or specialized services.

If your baby is transferred, the hardest part for many parents is being separated, especially after a C-section when you can't leave yet. Ask:

• Can I be transferred too, once I'm stable?
• Where can my partner stay, and is there parking or lodging help?
• How do I pump and get breast milk to the NICU?
• Who do I call for updates, and when?

Social workers at most NICUs can help with lodging, transportation and paperwork. Ask for one early.

When to call your provider

Go to the nearest labor and delivery unit, not necessarily your planned RPC, if you have heavy bleeding, severe belly pain, a seizure, trouble breathing, a severe headache with vision changes, or signs of labor before 37 weeks. Hospitals can stabilize you and arrange transfer. Call your provider for regular contractions, leaking fluid, or fewer baby movements.

If you're looking for a maternal-fetal medicine team or an OB who delivers at a particular hospital, search the directory by specialty and location.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• NY State Department of Health — Perinatal Regionalization (description of levels)
• NY State Department of Health — Hospital Profiles, Designated Centers: Regional Perinatal Center
• NY State Department of Health — Regional Perinatal Centers contract list (CRER 20513)
• NewYork-Presbyterian — Regional Perinatal Center
• ACOG and SMFM — Levels of Maternal Care (Obstetric Care Consensus No. 9)
• CDC — Preterm Birth

This article is for general education and is not medical advice. It does not replace an evaluation by a licensed clinician who knows your history. If you think you have a medical emergency, call 911.