Sharing Your Birth Experience
The birth of your baby may be a time that you want to share with family and friends, but it’s also a personal, intimate time. Our goal is to provide family-focused care while providing you with the privacy you need.
To help us with your birthing experience, begin thinking about who you would like with you during the three most sensitive periods surrounding birth:
Labor
This can be a lengthy period. Many women have a support person who stays with them at all times, but allow others to visit periodically.
Delivery
During the birth of your baby, additional staff and equipment will be needed and the room will be more crowded.
Bonding
During the first hour after birth, the nurses will be doing frequent assessments of you and your baby. This is also the best time to start breastfeeding, because the baby will be in an alert state for about an hour, followed by a deep sleep. Breastfeeding is a learned process and taking advantage of the baby’s natural alertness will help make this process smoother. Some mothers find it distracting to have visitors during this time. During the bonding period, mothers are encouraged to keep their infants warm with skin-to-skin contact, which can be done if you are bottle-feeding or breastfeeding.
When you are admitted to the hospital to have your baby, the nurses will ask you for the names of persons you wish to have with you during the above times. Occasionally, circumstances arise in which visitors will be asked to leave the room. Please make sure your visitors are aware of this possibility.
Family members and friends are welcome to pass the time in our comfortable waiting rooms. In order to ensure the privacy of our patients, we do not permit visitors to wait in the hallway. We understand that childbirth can be a very exciting time for those who are waiting. We recommend appointing a family member to come to the nurses’ station periodically to check on you, and we will be happy to provide an update that is agreeable to you.
