Having your first baby is an exciting, yet vulnerable time. Sarah appreciates the care and compassion her HSHS delivery team provided when she had her baby – it brought her so much strength and comfort as a new mom.
Having a Baby
We are here with you for precious new beginnings. The team at HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Women and Infants Center will be with you throughout your pregnancy with individualized, compassionate care.
Prenatal Classes
Labor and delivery
The Women and Infants Center at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital provides quality care to pregnant women and their families throughout the birthing process. Our anesthesia providers are available 24 hours a day to provide epidural placement and other pain management, as needed. Hydrotherapy tubs are available for mothers-to-be, (who meet safety guidelines), as a pain relief alternative to epidural treatment.
After you and your closest loved ones have welcomed your new baby in your private labor, delivery and recovery room, you will be transferred to your private post-partum room. We encourage rooming in for you and your baby. The support person is encouraged to stay as well!
Pain management with Nitrous Oxide
We additionally offer a nitrous oxide pain management program as an alternative to an epidural and IV pain medications. Expectant mothers like using Nitronox because it does not require IV access and is self-administered, empowering them to safely and effectively help manage the discomfort of labor and post-birth procedures while remaining alert and conscious. Plus, it can be quickly eliminated from the body so it does not affect the baby’s central nervous system or breathing and has not been shown to alter or slow the labor process.
Hydrotherapy
All Labor & Delivery Rooms include a Hydrotherapy tub for mothers-to-be (who meet safety guidelines) as a pain relief alternative to epidural treatment. Immersion in warm water can promote relaxation and decrease pain in the early stages of labor. The water provides a soothing stimulation of nerves in the skin, promoting increased blood flow and reducing pain causing signals. Hydrotherapy can also increase uterine blood flow, decrease maternal blood pressure and shorten labor.
Share support group
TOUCHING LIVES... HEALING HEARTS... GIVING HOPE...
Each year there are 900,000 early pregnancy losses, over 26,000 stillbirths, and approximately 19,000 neonatal deaths in the United States.
Too often, the grief and loss felt by parents may not be understood or accepted by society. Parents are often expected to simply pick up the pieces and move on - back to “normal” life. Even close friends and family sometimes struggle to understand the depth of emotions bereaved parents may experience which can both strain relationships and unnecessarily prolong the grief process.
Share Pregnancy & Infant Loss Support, Inc. is a national organization with over 75 chapters in 29 states. The mission of Share is to serve those whose lives are touched by the tragic death of a baby through pregnancy loss, stillbirth or in the first few months of life and offer a standard of personalized bereavement care through a lifetime of support, hope and healing – one family at a time.
How Share Can Help
Share provides support toward positive resolution of grief experienced at the time of/or following the death of a baby. This support encompasses emotional, physical, spiritual and social healing, as well as sustaining the family unit.
Share provides information, education and resources on the needs and rights of bereaved parents and siblings. The objective is to aid those in the community, including family, friends, employers, members of the congregation, caregivers and others in their supportive role.
Share connects you with others. When a baby dies, parents are often thrust into making many difficult decisions without any previous experiences to guide them. They often seek to validate their thoughts and to connect with others who have been through a similar experience.
Share is a community for the bereaved - a safe and supportive atmosphere where experiences, thoughts and feelings can be freely expressed. The families we serve gain a sense of wholeness when they realize that their pain and grief is not uncommon, but rather is something which nearly all bereaved parents feel.
For more information call 618-234-2120, ext. 31260