Our private labor-and-delivery rooms are spacious enough to host family members whom you wish to be present during the birth of your baby. Rooms include whirlpool tubs, showers, and other amenities to assist the labor process. Our caring and experienced nurses will work with you on relaxation and pain control techniques.

Helping you manage pain is important to us. Let your nurse know when you need something for pain and if the medications are effective in controlling your pain. Anesthesiologists are in-house 24/7 to help you manage your pain.

Surgical suites are located nearby to accommodate cesarean births, and a Special Care Unit is available for mothers-to-be who experience pre-term labor or have other conditions that require more intensive monitoring.

Sometimes childbirth can trigger flashbacks of past sexual abuse. Our providers are specially trained to recognize and sensitively care for laboring women who have experienced abuse—which according to national statistics, is as many as 1 in 3-4 women.

Triggers Can be Unexpected

Triggers can be very personal and surface unexpectedly while in labor, or even after you have delivered your baby. Body positions, proximity during physical exams, physical touch, and the labor and delivery process itself can all cause anxiety.

We Want You to Feel Safe

Although all laboring women are asked if they have ever been sexually abused, this is not always an easy question to answer honestly.

Advocates 4 Survivors of Sexual Abuse training, led by Women & Babies Hospital nurses, shows fellow providers how to recognize signs of abuse, and make survivors—and all women—feel safe and comfortable.

We will carefully explain procedures and why they’re important, knock before entering your room, and ask permission to touch a nursing mother’s breast.

Ideally, survivors will disclose the abuse so we can provide the most sensitive care possible. If you would like to learn more about what you may experience during labor and delivery, we are happy to schedule a personal tour.

Please email: a4ssa@lghealth.org

New mothers are checked frequently the first several hours after delivery. To maintain your privacy, visitors are asked to leave the room while care is being provided. After your initial recovery, vital signs are taken every four to eight hours, and your nurse will assess your condition each morning, evening, and night. Blood drawn around 6 a.m. provides important information to your physician each day. Additionally, our caring nursing staff checks on you hourly throughout your stay to make sure that all of your needs are being addressed.

Health Screenings

We perform blood testing on your baby to screen for multiple metabolic and genetic disorders. We also test each newborn’s hearing prior to discharge. The results are forwarded to your baby’s doctor and the Pennsylvania Department of Health, as required by the state. View a list of conditions that are screened for in our state.

Newborn heart disease is uncommon but may be difficult to detect. We screen for critical congenital heart disease on all newborns after 24 hours of age. An oxygen monitor wrapped around your baby’s foot and hand provides a reading. As part of Lancaster General Health’s affiliation with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), pediatric cardiologists from CHOP are available to provide support to our patients in Lancaster. If your baby is suspected of having a heart problem, your doctor can request a consult with one of these specialists to discuss next steps. Learn more about the pediatric subspecialists from CHOP who provide outpatient care at LG Health’s Suburban Pavilion.

Newborn hearing screening is done prior to your baby’s discharge. If a problem is detected, we’ll refer you to outpatient testing with a hearing specialist.

Yellow jaundice is a natural newborn process as your baby breaks down and eliminates your red blood cells from his or her body, producing a yellow pigment called bilirubin. Some infants have more of their mother’s blood to break down or it happens too quickly. This causes the bilirubin pigment to rise very quickly and may cause some problems. We screen for rapidly rising bilirubin in all infants with a simple monitor that is touched to the forehead at about 36 hours of age.

Protecting your Baby

Vitamin K is given to all newborns within one hour of birth. One dose is injected into the leg muscle of your baby to prevent newborn bleeding problems.

Newborn eye care takes place right after the birth of your baby. An antibiotic ointment is applied one time to the eyes to protect your baby from a serious bacterial infection called gonorrhea.

Hepatitis B vaccine is your baby’s first vaccine. It is recommended that all infants receive a birth dose of Hepatitis B vaccine by 24 hours of age, regardless of whether the mother has tested negative for Hepatitis B during her pregnancy. Many infants will catch this virus from another family member or friend who is infected with Hepatitis B but is unaware they have it.

Women who know their pregnancy will likely end with the loss of their child face many heart-wrenching challenges. Our Perinatal Palliative Care Team guides families through difficult decisions with sensitivity and compassion, and helps facilitate their wishes as their baby is delivered.

Every family processes grief in different ways. Our specially trained team of physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and other staff members work together to assure these very personal preferences are respected.

We offer counseling and special resources for bereaved parents and siblings, including:

• Birth plans that address a family's hopes, goals and values
• Experienced bereavement nurse to assist with memory-making options
• Written resources to help bolster a family's coping strategies
• Chaplaincy care to promote holistic care; mind, body and spirit
• Physicians specialized in assisting with medical decision making, and addressing pain and symptom management
• Support team to provide compassion, time to listen, and support throughout pregnancy and aftercare.

For more information, please contact Sharon Kauffman, MSN, RN, CPLC, Perinatal Loss and Perinatal Palliative Care Coordinator 717-544-3418.

After delivery, new mothers, babies and their families are moved to one of our private, comfortably furnished, post-birth rooms. You may choose to let your baby stay in your room with you, or you also have the option, any time, of having a nurse bring your baby back to the nursery. Once you deliver your baby, we notify your pediatrician, who will examine your baby in the nursery or right in your room.

We are committed to making this a special experience for families, and offer many services and amenities for your comfort and enjoyment during your stay. This special unit offers:

• Spacious, private rooms that accommodate family and visitors
• A supportive environment for breastfeeding
• A massage and restaurant-style meal service
• Exceptional nurses who apply a holistic approach to caring for mother and baby
• In-room conveniences, like a vanity with hair dryer, private bathroom with shower, TV, and mini refrigerator
• Additional space for families, including a lounge with kitchen area, children’s play area, and outdoor courtyard
• WelcomeNewborn professional portrait photography

To create a healing environment, individual units set aside a quiet time each day for you to rest and spend one-on-one time with the newest member of your family. During quiet time, the lights on the unit are dimmed and staff refrain from unplanned interruptions. These times vary from unit to unit.

Your family’s safety and peace of mind are our top priority. We’ve taken the necessary steps to ensure your baby’s well-being, including 24-hour on-site security, supplemented by the latest in security technology and an identification badge process.

Wrist bands are required to stay on your newborn at all times to properly identify your baby for treatment, medications, and any necessary procedures.

Upon admission, you may receive one or more wrist identification bands, which should not be removed until you are discharged from the hospital. The hospital uses bands for patient/parent identification and to communicate medical information to hospital staff. Color-coded bands are used as medical alert devices for specific conditions. To avoid confusion, do not wear charity bracelets or other bands on your wrist when you come to the hospital.

After your delivery, we provide infant medical screenings and, for babies who need it, the most advanced Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) in the county.

Women & Babies Hospital is home to Lancaster County’s first Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Thanks to an alliance with Lancaster General Health, a dedicated team of physicians (neonatologists), neonatal nurse practitioners, and physician assistants from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia provide 24/7, on-site care in our 29-bed unit to infants who are premature or in need of extra attention. These providers have been part of our NICU team for many years, and have the experience, advanced training, and equipment to care for newborns as early as 23 gestational weeks.

If your pregnancy is identified as high-risk, our NICU team may consult with you prior to your delivery. If your baby requires NICU care, we do all we can to make you and your family as comfortable as possible. We have private breastfeeding areas, family sitting and visiting rooms, a flexible visiting policy, and overnight accommodations for parents so you are never far from your newborn.