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When you arrive at the hospital, you’ll need your insurance card and valid photo ID (e.g., driver’s license, passport).

For your hospital stay, you’ll only need the basics:

• A list of medications and vitamins you’re currently taking
• Comfortable clothes for you, your birth partner; you may want to bring a robe, slippers or socks
• A going-home outfit for your new baby, plus one backup outfit
• A blanket and/or warm outerwear for your baby, depending on the weather
• A supportive bra, extra underwear and sanitary pads
• Toiletries including chapstick, brush and hair ties
• A nursing bra, breast pads and your breast pump, if you’re planning to breastfeed
• Optional: Something to focus on during labor, snacks for after delivery, small portable fan, a camera and phone/watch charger

Diapers and wipes for your baby will be provided throughout your stay.

Please check with your hospital in advance about birth certificate fees and documentation requirements.

An infant car seat should already be installed in the family car for the baby's first trip home.

Please do not bring jewelry or valuables to the hospital.

We strongly encourage birthing partners to remain with mothers at all times to provide comfort and support. Recliner chairs are available in every room. Ask your nurse for assistance if needed.

We welcome your doula or labor support companions! There are many ways they can help during childbirth, for example:

• Sit with the laboring mother
• Help with labor position changes
• Assist with relaxation and massage
• Reinforce and coach breathing, focus or other comfort measures
• Provide reassurance and support
• Read to or talk with the mother and partner
• Answer the telephone
• Write down questions for the doctor and answers for the family
• With a nurse’s approval, help mom get in and out of bed, go to the bathroom and walk
• Advocate for your birth plan to providers
• Limit the distractions in the birthing room to create a calming environment
• Get ice, snacks or refreshments for mom and partner
• Keep family members and friends informed of mother’s progress
• Offer explanation and support of the necessity of a medical intervention outside of the mother’s wishes

Doulas and labor support companions are not allowed to:

• Perform vaginal exams
• Adjust or tamper with IV lines, fetal or maternal monitors, clinical equipment or epidural catheters
• Administer any medication, including herbal, tinctures, etc.
• Hinder the medical team from proceeding with a medically necessary intervention

We encourage you to speak with your care provider or one of our certified childbirth educators when taking one of our classes to learn more about how a doula may participate in your birth.

Your baby's security in the hospital nursery is a top priority to all of us at ¹û¶³ÊÓƵ.

Transporting your baby

Although security policies differ somewhat from hospital to hospital, all ¹û¶³ÊÓƵ hospitals require that babies are transported around the hospital in their cribs. Never let anyone carry your baby away in their arms. The exception to this is immediately after birth when your infant is carried to the nursery, often by its father, for newborn assessment.

Proper identification

You should also check the identification of any nurse who comes to take your baby for tests or to the nursery. At the minimum, the nurse should be wearing a hospital ID badge with a visible name and photo. If you do not see proper identification, do not hesitate to request it before you let anyone take your baby.

ID bracelets

Immediately after your baby is born, a nurse will place two bracelets with the same identification numbers on your baby. Mom will receive a wrist bracelet bearing the same number, and most of our hospitals have an additional bracelet available that the baby's father can wear. This bracelet system helps make sure your baby stays in the right hands.

You must show your identification number to be permitted to the nursery. If your baby is transferred to one of our specialty nurseries, we'll give you a different set of instructions.

One support person is welcome to stay overnight with you in your postpartum room.

• All overnight visitors must sleep in the cot or chair provided, and not in the patient's bed. The chair bed must be up and out of the way by 7 a.m. so it does not interfere with nursing care.
• Personal articles are the responsibility of the visitor.
• The hospital is not responsible for providing meals to the visitor.
• Nursing staff are not responsible for cleaning the overnight visitor's area.
• If the parents aren’t married, the baby’s mother will have to give permission for the father to stay overnight. The father can’t spend the night if he is under 18.
• Siblings of the new baby are not permitted to stay overnight.

We know having a baby is a very important event in your life. We want you to be able to share your joy with family and friends.

Your stay with us is relatively short, and you will want time to rest and recover from your birth experience. In the weeks before your delivery, you may want to consider who you would like to visit while you’re in the hospital.

During labor

While you’re in labor, you may designate two to three primary support people. Once you’re recovering, family and friends are welcome to visit unless you tell us otherwise. For your safety, visitors must check in and you will be contacted to verify that you are ready for visitors.

Children visitors

Children under 12 must be supervised by a responsible adult (other than the patient) at all times. Unfortunately, we cannot accommodate overnight stays for children.

Illness

Newborn babies have very vulnerable immune systems, so we want to minimize health risks for your baby. If someone is ill, they should wait until they are healthy to see you and your baby.

See individual hospital visitation policies for more details

Your care team will review special discharge instructions with you before you leave the hospital. All of this information will be given to you in the "Mom and Baby Basics" booklet. Please read the information carefully so your baby's homecoming can be as smooth as possible.

For a safe first ride, remember you must have your baby's car seat installed at the time of discharge.

Following is the process for your hospital discharge:

1. Doctor writes the order for discharge (both OB and pediatrician)
2. Nurse goes through discharge information with the mother
3. Nursery nurse discharges the baby to the mother with instructions once the mother’s transportation has arrived
4. Support person loads all personal belongings, gifts and flowers into the car
5. Mom is wheeled down to the front lobby (holding baby)
6. Support person loads mom and baby

Please note, the end-to-end discharge process may take up to two hours.