The Cyber Doulas just got back from a tour of the new BirthPlace at Mercy Medical Center during today's open house. We know many of you weren't able to make it, so we wanted to share our thoughts!
Let's start by saying the facility is aesthetically pleasing. It is big and open, and has an inviting feel. Because we know feeling at ease is very important in a smooth childbirth, we were happy to see a less "hospital-like" feel from the building.
Once the doors open, all laboring moms will go to the new facility, employees told us. This means if you plan to have a vaginal birth - not a scheduled cesarean - you will check into one of the six new rooms. (There are actually eight rooms in the facility, but they are opening with six, and will roll the other two out later.)
The Rooms
The rooms are larger than those on the old Mercy Labor and Delivery floor, and have that new car smell lots of moms will like. But honestly, if you were expecting them to live up to the "freestanding birth center" label in a traditional sense, you may need to readjust your expectations. The rooms were nice, with a fireplace flickering in the wall and a big window.
To give you an idea what you are looking at, if you have ever had a baby in a hospital that had LDRP rooms (labor, delivery, recovery, postpartum), these are very similar. One difference, at least from the rooms we have personal experience with, is that c-section moms will not recover in them.
Dads/partners will have the benefit of a sleeper sofa (thank you!) to make their stay more comfortable, but Mom will be in a traditional labor and delivery hospital bed. If you have seen More Business of Being Born and were hoping for a double bed for the new family to snuggle up in, sorry to disappoint!
Moms will have access to all of the same pain medications and medical procedures as in the current facility. In fact, the brochure notes the center will have the "latest technology in medical equipment." And the rooms are definitely modern. Those looking for the latest in technology will be pleased with what they find, at least if initial appearances are correct.
A lot of attention was paid to the view from the rooms - and from the conference room one floor up - so if it bothered you to labor in the closed off rooms of the old ward, you are in luck.
The number one question we have heard as members of our community watched the building go up has been about the tubs! Well, we can tell you the tubs are deep and jetted (yay), but fairly short (boo). And no, there will not be water births in this facility.
The BirthPlace at Mercy is on the second floor of the new building. On the first floor is the new Outpatient Surgery Center, where roomy new state-of-the-art surgical suites are available. At this point, the surgical manager told us, the suites are not approved for cesareans. He said approval was being sought for that use in the future.
Cesareans
So what happens if you are having a cesarean, whether scheduled or not? Here's what we were told.
If you are having a scheduled cesarean, you will check into the old labor and delivery floor in the main part of Mercy Medical Center. The procedure for your stay will be largely the same as it is now.
But what if you are laboring in the new BirthPlace and your provider decides it is time to switch gears and head off to surgery? At this time, you will be taken from the new center, through the hallway connecting it to the main hospital, and into the old surgery suites. You would then spend your recovery time in the main hospital.
This information will all change, of course, if approval is granted for cesareans to happen in the new facility.
Time
One note we want to make here is that a lot of emphasis was made during the tour on TIME. We heard over and over again about time limits on how long moms could stay in the facility. Basically the consensus seemed to be that mothers would labor there, and once baby arrived, a 24-hour discharge clock would start. We're not sure if this was just talking points from people who don't actually work in the department, but judging by the number of times we heard it repeated, we thought it was worth pointing out.
While many new families are happy to head home as soon as they can, not all are, and we feel that arbitrary time limits could be harmful. It brought to mind the Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection Act, which tells group health insurance providers they must allow 48 hours for a vaginal birth and 96 hours for a cesarean. According to one study we read, the average hospital stay for a vaginal birth in 1970 was four days, allowing moms and babies time to work through all those early issues (PKU, jaundice, breastfeeding bumps, etc.).
These new time limits may or may not be in place as the facility opens. Either way, we encourage mothers to talk with their health care providers about what is right for them, and be open to change as your feelings and situation changes.
Opening
The BirthPlace at Mercy is set to open October 19.
Let's start by saying the facility is aesthetically pleasing. It is big and open, and has an inviting feel. Because we know feeling at ease is very important in a smooth childbirth, we were happy to see a less "hospital-like" feel from the building.
Once the doors open, all laboring moms will go to the new facility, employees told us. This means if you plan to have a vaginal birth - not a scheduled cesarean - you will check into one of the six new rooms. (There are actually eight rooms in the facility, but they are opening with six, and will roll the other two out later.)
The Rooms
The rooms are larger than those on the old Mercy Labor and Delivery floor, and have that new car smell lots of moms will like. But honestly, if you were expecting them to live up to the "freestanding birth center" label in a traditional sense, you may need to readjust your expectations. The rooms were nice, with a fireplace flickering in the wall and a big window.
To give you an idea what you are looking at, if you have ever had a baby in a hospital that had LDRP rooms (labor, delivery, recovery, postpartum), these are very similar. One difference, at least from the rooms we have personal experience with, is that c-section moms will not recover in them.
Dads/partners will have the benefit of a sleeper sofa (thank you!) to make their stay more comfortable, but Mom will be in a traditional labor and delivery hospital bed. If you have seen More Business of Being Born and were hoping for a double bed for the new family to snuggle up in, sorry to disappoint!
Moms will have access to all of the same pain medications and medical procedures as in the current facility. In fact, the brochure notes the center will have the "latest technology in medical equipment." And the rooms are definitely modern. Those looking for the latest in technology will be pleased with what they find, at least if initial appearances are correct.
A lot of attention was paid to the view from the rooms - and from the conference room one floor up - so if it bothered you to labor in the closed off rooms of the old ward, you are in luck.
The number one question we have heard as members of our community watched the building go up has been about the tubs! Well, we can tell you the tubs are deep and jetted (yay), but fairly short (boo). And no, there will not be water births in this facility.
The BirthPlace at Mercy is on the second floor of the new building. On the first floor is the new Outpatient Surgery Center, where roomy new state-of-the-art surgical suites are available. At this point, the surgical manager told us, the suites are not approved for cesareans. He said approval was being sought for that use in the future.
Cesareans
So what happens if you are having a cesarean, whether scheduled or not? Here's what we were told.
If you are having a scheduled cesarean, you will check into the old labor and delivery floor in the main part of Mercy Medical Center. The procedure for your stay will be largely the same as it is now.
But what if you are laboring in the new BirthPlace and your provider decides it is time to switch gears and head off to surgery? At this time, you will be taken from the new center, through the hallway connecting it to the main hospital, and into the old surgery suites. You would then spend your recovery time in the main hospital.
This information will all change, of course, if approval is granted for cesareans to happen in the new facility.
Time
One note we want to make here is that a lot of emphasis was made during the tour on TIME. We heard over and over again about time limits on how long moms could stay in the facility. Basically the consensus seemed to be that mothers would labor there, and once baby arrived, a 24-hour discharge clock would start. We're not sure if this was just talking points from people who don't actually work in the department, but judging by the number of times we heard it repeated, we thought it was worth pointing out.
While many new families are happy to head home as soon as they can, not all are, and we feel that arbitrary time limits could be harmful. It brought to mind the Newborns' and Mothers' Health Protection Act, which tells group health insurance providers they must allow 48 hours for a vaginal birth and 96 hours for a cesarean. According to one study we read, the average hospital stay for a vaginal birth in 1970 was four days, allowing moms and babies time to work through all those early issues (PKU, jaundice, breastfeeding bumps, etc.).
These new time limits may or may not be in place as the facility opens. Either way, we encourage mothers to talk with their health care providers about what is right for them, and be open to change as your feelings and situation changes.
Opening
The BirthPlace at Mercy is set to open October 19.
