Where to Park

• For an evaluation of whether or not you are in labor, park and enter through the main hospital Emergency Room entrance.
• For a scheduled induction or cesarean section (during the hours of 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.), park near the main hospital’s entrance.

View hospital map.

Where to Check-In

You should check in at the main hospital Emergency Room for an evaluation to see whether you are in labor.

If you are arriving for a scheduled induction or cesarean, please check in at Labor and Delivery, located on the second floor of Tower 1.

When packing a labor bag, be sure to include:

• Driver’s license or ID card
• Insurance information
• Phone, camera, video camera and charging cables

Other items that may keep you comfortable during labor include:

• A deck of cards, books, magazines, music, tablet, etc.
• Bathrobe or labor gown
• Labor support tools
• Comfy slippers/socks (skid-proof)
• Snacks for your partner

Please note you will not need your luggage or car seat until after you are moved to your Mother/Baby hospital room.

We are here to help you have the birth experience that best fits your wishes and needs.

What’s In Your Labor and Delivery Room

Our spacious Labor and Delivery suites can comfortably accommodate you and your birthing family. Each suite includes:

• Flatscreen TV with a USB port for your streaming devices
• Free internet access
• Couch, recliner or rocking chair
• Full-size bathroom
• Temperature control for your suite.

Birth Plans

If you have a birth plan, please share it with the nurse when you arrive at your labor suite. You do not have to create a birth plan. We will try to follow your wishes as long as they do not interfere with the health and safety of you or the baby.

Documenting this special occasion is important for many of our families. Cameras are allowed with the following conditions:

• Your provider and any nurses or other providers in the room must consent to the video or photography.
• The individual recording the birth must sign the hospital’s Photographer/Videographer Agreement.
• Video or photography can begin only when allowed by the provider or hospital staff.
• The individual must obtain permission to photograph or videotape hospital staff before doing so.
• Only hand-held devices are allowed in Labor and Delivery (no tripods).

Please note that the provider or nurse may require the individual to stop photographing or videotaping at any time.

Pain Management Options

There is no medical best choice for managing pain during labor. Everyone has different pain thresholds. Instead, it’s a question of what makes the most sense for you and your partner. If you find that you want additional pain management during labor, the options available at Texas Health Southwest include:

• Hydrotherapy in the labor room showers
• IV medication
• Epidurals
• Nitrous oxide.

Labor Support Tools

Texas Health Southwest has birthing balls, peanut balls and labor bars for use during labor. When you arrive at Labor and Delivery, please notify your nurse if you would like to use one of them. You are also welcome to bring your own support tools including a birth gown, music player, blankets, pillows, etc.

Expectant parents often find it helpful to have the support of a doula. Doulas are trained in providing emotional and physical support and helping women to carry out their birth plans. Doulas can be hired sometime during the pregnancy.

Our goal is to maintain scheduled delivery dates. To provide excellent care to you during the birth of your child(ren), the scheduled time of your arrival might change. If there are any changes, we will call you (usually 1-2 hours before admission). We will also communicate any changes with your doctor. If you have questions or concerns about changes to your scheduled delivery, talk to your doctor.

Before Your Delivery

If you are having a scheduled induction or cesarean at Texas Health Southwest, please remember the following:

• Do not eat or drink at least eight hours before the procedure, or the procedure may be rescheduled, possibly to another day.
• Shower in the morning using the chlorhexidine gluconate (HCG) solution provided by your doctor’s office.
• Remove all jewelry and leave valuables at home.

Scheduled Cesarean Births

When you arrive, tell the Labor and Delivery staff you are there for a scheduled procedure. You will be taken to your room, where you will remain for approximately two hours. During this time the nurses will monitor the baby. The doctor who administers your anesthesia will visit you to discuss your options before you are taken to the operating room.

Typically, a physician, two nurses, an anesthesiologist and a certified surgery technician are in the operating room. One support person may be in the operating room during the surgery, as long as there are no safety concerns. Typically, you will be in the operating room for about one hour. After the surgery, you will be moved back to your Labor and Delivery room with your baby and support person. You will remain in recovery for about two hours. If there are no safety concerns, you will have skin-to-skin time with your new baby to establish the first feeding.

Gentle Cesarean Birth

For expectant moms who need a cesarean birth, Texas Health Southwest offers a gentle cesarean. This type of cesarean aims to create a birth experience that is similar to a vaginal delivery. Your nurse can give more details if you are interested in this type of experience.

The Golden Hour

The first hour after birth is called the golden hour, when we allow only mom, baby and one support person in the room to promote rest and relaxation.

Skin-to-Skin

As soon as possible after birth, nurses will place your baby skin-to-skin for at least an hour to allow time for the first feeding. Skin-to-skin time helps your newborn stay warm, stabilizes blood-sugar levels and is considered good for all babies.

Baby’s First Examination

After the first hour, your newborn will be examined in your birth room, which will allow your family to be part of the baby’s first exam and measurement. Medications given after birth include vitamin K and erythromycin opthalmic ointment.

Your Pediatrician is Notified

After the birth, we will notify your pediatrician that you have delivered your baby. If you do not have a preselected pediatrician or one with hospital privileges, your baby will be seen by the on-call pediatrician.

Mother and Baby Care

You and your baby will remain in Labor and Delivery for about two hours before transfer to the room where you will stay throughout your visit.

Location

All mother and baby rooms are located on the second floor of the Pease Tower (Tower 2). Parking is available near the front atrium entrance.

Your Mother and Baby Room

Mother and baby rooms are as inviting as the family and friends that surround you. Each spacious room comfortably accommodates families during their hospital stay and includes:

• Flat-screen TV with a USB port for your streaming devices
• Free internet access
• Rocking chair
• Couch that converts into a comfortable twin bed
• Temperature control for your suite
• Full-size bathroom

How Long You Will Stay

Typically, you will be discharged between 24 and 48 hours after a vaginal delivery. For a cesarean, you can be discharged between 48 and 72 hours after surgery. Exceptions exist for shorter and longer hospital stays, if desired or needed. Talk with your nurse about when you hope to be discharged.

Get Up and Walk

Within six hours after giving birth, your nurse will help you get out of bed to walk around. Walking will improve your circulation and prevent blood clots.

You Will be Visited Hourly

Your nurses or the patient care assistants will check on you about every hour. If you would like less frequent visitations, just let the nurse know.

When You Can Eat

After an uncomplicated vaginal delivery, you can eat as soon as you desire. Following a cesarean birth, a nurse will offer liquids and within six hours, you will be eating regular food.

Baby’s Screenings and Procedures

During your hospital stay, your baby will be examined by a pediatrician every day. If your pediatrician has privileges at the hospital, they or someone from their practice will visit you daily. If your pediatrician is not on the medical staff, you will be visited by an on-call pediatrician. In additional, your newborn will have several tests that may include:

• Blood screen (age 24 hours)
• Hearing screen
• Jaundice
• Heart screen (age 24 hours)
• Car-seat screen (when applicable).

Circumcision

Circumcision for a boy infant may be completed during the hospital stay, if desired. Your baby is returned to you typically within an hour of the procedure.

Where Baby Will Stay

Texas Health Southwest works to minimize the separation of moms and babies. We encourage moms to keep their babies in their hospital rooms (including nighttime), a practice called rooming-in. Even the babies’ evaluations and examinations may take place in the moms’ rooms. Moms also have an opportunity to learn their babies’ cues with hospital personnel nearby to answer questions and offer education. With support and guidance from experienced nurses, parents gain the skills needed to confidently care for their babies, in the comfort of their hospital rooms.

We offer complimentary room service dining for our moms and — for an additional charge — to a support person during hospital stays. On-campus dining  is also available, until 2:30 p.m.

During your hospital stay, a coordinator will contact you to complete the necessary paperwork to record your baby’s birth. You will be given documentation that can be sent to your insurance company.

For unmarried parents, an “Acknowledgement of Paternity” must be completed and signed by both parties before leaving the hospital. This is not genetic testing.

If you would like to complete the “Mothers Worksheet for Child’s Birth Certificate” and/or the “Acknowledgement of Paternity” in advance, please call us at 817-433-2283.

Get more information on requesting your child’s birth certificate or social security information.

Breastfeeding Support

During your hospital stay, your nurse will be the primary contact for breastfeeding education. Certified lactation consultants are also available seven days a week to provide one-on-one assistance in the privacy of your room.

Breast Pump Rentals

The Texas Health Southwest Breastfeeding Resource Center and Boutique has Medela™ breast pumps available for rent. Additionally, nursing supplies and pump parts are available for purchase.

Even if your doctor says you are ready to go home, there is still a process that needs to be completed for your safety and security.

Things to Discuss with Your Family and Nurse

Are you ready and do you have the things you need before going home? Discuss these questions with your family (If you have questions or concerns, please talk with your nurse):

• When do I think I will be going home (day and time)?
• How am I getting home?
• Who will help me at home?
• Do I have the supplies I need?

Steps that Happen on Discharge Day

• Before you go home, the following must be completed: Your baby’s heart screening and newborn screening test were completed at age 24 hours
• You have made a follow-up appointment for your newborn
• Your OB/GYN has visited and said you can go home
• The pediatrician has visited and said your baby can go home
• You rented a breast pump, if desired
• You have completed all necessary paperwork
• Your prescriptions have been ordered or sent to your pharmacy
• You have reviewed your medications with a nurse
• A nurse or technician has brought a wheelchair to take you to your car

Location

Each high-risk mom-to-be has a private room inside the Labor and Delivery department, where she receives specialized care from nurses trained in high-risk pregnancies.

What’s In Your Room

Our moms-to-be stay long-term in rooms with hotel-like surroundings and gourmet room service. While a guest, the following services are available:

• Childbirth education, offered bedside
• Visits from pet-therapy dogs
• Bedside baby showers
• Gourmet room-service dining

While staying at Texas Health Southwest, you will be cared for by an experienced multidisciplinary team that includes

• Board-certified maternal-fetal specialists
• Neonatologists and Neonatal Nurse Practitioners on the medical staff
• Transition care managers
• OB Laborists
• Occupational therapists
• Dietitians
• Pastoral care
• Social services

The team will work closely with your obstetrician, if needed, to assist with managing your prenatal care.