If you are pregnant or planning a pregnancy, please click here to visit our month-to-month Pregnancy Planner.

Mother-Baby Care
Last year, Women & Infants' Hospital delivered 9,745 babies, and we consider every one of them as special. Our nurses provide family-centered care, which means that we consider the whole family to be our patients. The postpartum nurses provide couplet-care, which means the same nurse will care for both Mom and Baby during her shift. Our mother-baby units boast all private rooms for new mothers and the father/significant other to learn about and enjoy their newest family member.

Your Care on the Postpartum Unit
Our goals for you before your discharge from the hospital are to provide the education and physical care that you require. This will enable you to take care of yourself and your baby at home. Because maternity patients today have such brief hospital stays, we encourage you to make the most of your hospital experience by learning as much as possible. We accomplish this by providing individual teaching and group classes on childbirth and parenting, as well as closed-circuit television network, videos and reading materials. Both you and the father/significant other should participate as fully as possible in the care of the baby. This will enable you to practice what you have learned, ask questions of the medical and nursing staff, and better make the transition from hospital to home. If you have questions after you are discharged, please call our WarmLine at 1-800-711-7011.

If this is your first baby, we encourage you to keep the baby with you in your room for the night or, if you should so desire, have the baby room-in with you for your entire stay. Rooming-in enhances family bonding by encouraging all members of the family to take an active role in the care of the infant.

Your nurse is the most important resource for instruction and answers to your questions. She will help you plan each day's activity to best meet your needs as well as those of your infant and family. Please do not hesitate to ask your nurse any questions about your and your baby's care.

Your Baby's Care
Whenever your baby is not in your room, he / she will be cared for in the newborn nursery within your obstetrical unit. Healthy term babies may stay with their mothers after delivery and stay warm using skin-to-skin contact. Skin-to-skin contact is when the baby, wearing a diaper only, is placed directly on the mother's chest with a blanket over them. Some babies may also be placed in an incubator after delivery to stabilize and maintain body temperature. Newborn babies are extremely susceptible to infection. Therefore, for the health of your baby and other babies on your hospital unit, it is essential that everyone handling the baby wash their hands well.

Your Baby's Safety
If you leave your room or are unable to attend to your baby for any reason (such as showering), bring the baby back to the nursery in his or her pram (crib). Do not allow anyone without a proper hospital identification badge to remove your baby from the room. Call on your nurse if you have any questions about the hospital routine.