Child Birth

Deciding where to bring your baby into the world is an important decision for expectant parents. Take comfort in knowing that our experienced team delivers nearly 1,300 infants annually. Ensuring the highest quality of care, Wheeling Hospital has six birthing rooms, rooming in program, new nursery, special security, a Level II NICU, advanced practice neonatal nurses and a staff certified in neonatal resuscitation.

Services

• Birthing Rooms
• Nursery
• NICU
• Rooming In
• Security
• Lactation
• Educational Services

Birthing Rooms

The Birthing Rooms are designed to provide maximum comfort and safety for both the mother and the newborn. They are planned down to the smallest detail to make the birthing experiences as pleasant as possible for everyone involved.

The rooms provide plenty of space for everyone who is permitted to be present at the time of delivery, including the patient, support people, a resident, physician, two nursing staff members plus a pediatrician, if necessary.

All of the birthing rooms are designed to resemble bedrooms, tastefully decorated with virtually all of the medical equipment hidden from view. When expectant mothers enter the birthing room, they see a bed, a rocking chair, entertainment module and a warmer for the baby. A framed print hangs behind the bed. But the picture, serving as a camouflage, swings out to reveal many of the medical items needed for the delivery.

The birthing room concept has simplified the delivery process. Previously, mothers-to-be labored in a room, were moved to a bed, taken on that bed to the delivery room, moved to a table where they delivered their child, moved back to a bed or cart and then back to another bed in the recovery room. Now everything takes place in one comfortable room.

The birthing rooms are located near a delivery room in case a Cesarean delivery is required.

After delivery, the new moms are transferred to private rooms, which have fold-out chairs that convert into beds, allowing the fathers an opportunity to spend the night with their families.

Nursery

With the change to rooming-in model of care, the new Nursery at Wheeling Hospital is state of the art, but a much smaller version. It is designed for three babies as the other babies will be in the rooms with their mothers. Physicians are rounding and doing admission and discharge exams in the mothers’ rooms, and the nurses are doing all care at the mother’s bedside.

Nursery: 304-243-3310

NICU

A partnership between WVU Medicine Children’s and Wheeling has resulted in the most advanced neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) in the area. WVU Medicine Children’s is dedicated to serving all patients in need and committed to its mission to accept all patients needing highly specialized medical care.

The NICU allows the families to participate more in their infant’s care without having to worry about travel and lodging, leaving other children, their jobs, etc., and it also allows them to link with local community services.

The services include:

• 24/7/365 in-person coverage of NICU.
• Combination of on-site, in-person and live videoconference telemedicine services of the Wheeling Hospital neonatal population.
• Daytime services provided by neonatologist at the hospital 8 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday.
• Night coverage provided by trained advance practice provider (APP) from 4 pm to 8 am Monday to Saturday.
• Weekend and holiday coverage provided by rotating neonatologist, pediatrician or APP with tele-NICU services for consultation within 30 minutes of request.

NICU: 304-243-3849

Rooming In

Wheeling Hospital has opened its new Nursery, and also began using its new rooming-In arrangement for newborns and their mothers. Rooming in refers to caring for both the mother and baby in the same room throughout the entire hospital stay. The goal is to have the baby stay with the mom at least 23 hours a day, which is a CDC recommendation and supported by the Joint Commission.

Rooming-In helps families prepare for going home with a new baby by giving parents the opportunity to learn about infant care as well as the baby’s behaviors, with expert nursing staff working with them day and night. Research shows mothers are just as likely to get the same amount of rest with the baby in the room.

Additional evidence shows that 24-hour rooming in provides moms:

• Ability to learn what baby’s cues (sleepy, stressed, in need of quiet time, or hungry).
• Better quality sleep.
• Earlier identification of early feeding cues (rooting, opening mouth, and sucking on tongue, fingers, or hand).
• Improved breastfeeding experience.
• Increased confidence in handling and caring for baby.
• Increases opportunity for skin-to-skin contact.
• Less “baby blues” and post-partum.
• Less infant crying and distress (babies love to be near parents).
• Parents are better-rested and more relaxed by the end of the first week home.

For baby, the benefits include:

• Babies exposed to normal bacteria on mother’s skin, which may protect them from becoming sick due to harmful germs.
• Better quality sleep. The baby will develop a more regular sleep-wake cycle earlier, and may help ease the transition to day/night routines.
• Breastfeed sooner, longer, and more easily.
• Generally more content, less crying.
• Lower levels of stress hormones.
• More stable body temperatures.
• More stable blood sugar.

Security

As infant safety is a priority in the care of new mothers and babies, Wheeling Hospital offers peace of mind by providing extremely tight security for the maternity unit. Special ID badges are used to identify the staff, and matching bracelets are placed on the baby and the parents. Only family members wearing designated bracelets are permitted to enter the nursery. Additionally, access to the unit is limited and constantly monitored.

Lactation

Lactation consultations may be scheduled upon discharge from hospital with an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) member. Consults coordinate with infant pediatrician appointments for convenience for mother/infant, or can be made at any time for mothers’ convenience

Appointments

304-243-7101

Educational Programs

Through WebEx, free classes are live streamed and available on any smart device, including phone, tablet and laptop. Participants are provided instructions on how to download the app. To register they only have to provide their email and home addresses.

Classes are available in Childbirth, Breastfeeding and Newborn Care.

Contact Women’s Services at 304-243-3235.