Services
During Your Stay
The care of experts with the comforts of home
Like you, we want your baby to have the best start in life. There’s a lot to learn right after baby comes, but our team is here to help you each step of the way.
Your room: labor and delivery suites
Moving is never fun. That’s even more true when you’re in the hospital. The birth suites at the Family Birth Place are your home away from home for your entire stay — during labor and delivery, and through your recovery. You and your partner or support person can settle in and stay until you and your baby are heading home.
Rooming in as a family
These first hours with your baby are priceless. To make sure you have time to bond as a family, we encourage time together at every opportunity.
After birth, your baby will be put on your chest, skin-to-skin. This helps your baby to stay warm, breathe well, and relax from the stress of birth. They even cry less! We will encourage you to hold your baby skin-to-skin for at least an hour or until after the first feeding is completed.
Keeping your baby in your room allows you to get to know your baby before you go home. For breastfeeding babies, this closeness allows for frequent feedings and helps mom’s milk to come in. We encourage parents and babies to remain together for the entire hospital stay. If your baby needs to be taken to the nursery, you and/or your partner are welcome to accompany your baby.
If your baby should need additional care or support after delivery, our teleNICU (neonatal intensive care unit) service will monitor your baby. Our trained staff will stabilize your baby and safely transport him/her to the Doernbecher NICU if necessary.
Safe sleep for babies is always on their backs, in their own firm crib (no couches or pillows). Your room will include a small crib for your newborn. If you are sleepy or feeling unsteady, whether at home or at the hospital, do not put your baby in bed with you; instead, put him/her in the crib so they stay safe.
Traditional birthing suites
Your private, beautifully decorated suite includes many perks, including:
- Private shower/bath with Jacuzzi tub (great for labor)
- Birthing balls, stools and squat bars to encourage comfort, and movement during labor
- Wireless fetal monitoring to make it easier to move during labor
- Refrigerator and television
- Daybed for your partner or support person
- Access to epidural for pain management
Midwifery suites
Several of the rooms in our Family Birth Place are specially appointed for births supervised by our certified nurse-midwives. These suites offer an even more home-like setting and options that promote relaxation and comfort during labor and birth.
Because the midwifery suites are located within the Family Birth Place, you have access to our full complement of medical services in the rare situation when you needed them.
In a midwifery suite, you will find:
- Laboring tubs
- Access to nitrous oxide
- Queen-size bed
- Birth balls
- Birth stools
- Low lighting
- A quieter environment, with fewer interruptions, machines, and monitors
Pain management during labor
It’s hard to know what level of pain to expect during labor and birth, especially your first time. And even if you’ve delivered before, pain can vary from one baby to the next. Our goal is to support you in whatever pain management or labor coping methods work best for you. Our certified nurse-midwives can help low-risk patients with an unmedicated delivery in one of our midwifery suites, or you may deliver in a traditional labor and delivery room with access to pain medications. Pain management options include:
Support and visitor policy
Most people feel the most comfortable during their birth experience when they have the support and love of birthing partners. Many women also find themselves overwhelmed when there are too many people vying to be part of their personal birth experience. Our policy about supporters during birth and visitors after is geared to make your experience safe, supported, and meaningful to you while we provide the best care possible.
Support during birth
You're welcome to include two support people during birth. You may also add a professional doula if you wish.
Visitors after delivery
After your baby has arrived, you can have up to four different visitors per day. Only two may be in your room at a time. You can change who those four visitors are each day if you wish. Any minor must be accompanied by an adult who is not the patient. Your care team may also suggest rest periods when it's important for you and your baby to have a break from guests while you both recover.
