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Read MoreWritten by Jennifer Auer and originally published in Jersey Family Fun
Welcome back to our series about delivering your baby at Inspira Medical Centers in South Jersey. Throughout the series, I’ve been sharing how Inspira Health supports South Jersey moms-to-be in owning their pregnancy. As a partner with Inspira, I’ve seen firsthand how their team lives their mission and the quality of care they want for moms delivering a baby at Inspira Medical center Mullica Hill.
No two women are alike, nor should their birth plan all have to look the same. Each mom deserves to have the pregnancy experience she wants. Regardless of how you plan to own your pregnancy, we’ve put together a few tips for having a baby that can help all moms.
Pick an OB/GYN
There are a multitude of obstetricians and gynecologists available in South Jersey, but you want to find the one that’s right for you. Inspira Health has more than a dozen OB/GYNs plus midwives on staff. If you can, start your search before you become pregnant. How do you pick the ones that’s right for you? Here are some things to consider.
- Where do you want to deliver? It’s important to note that not all obstetricians deliver at all of the Inspira Medical Centers. If you have your heart set on delivering at Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill, you will need to make sure that your doctor has privileges there. Inspira’s medical centers in Elmer and Vineland meet high standards when it comes to maternity services while maintaining their own unique environments and accolades.
- Are you looking for your doctor to have a particular background or experience with a specific condition?
- Would you prefer your doctor speak another language?
- Would you prefer to deliver with a midwife?
As you consider what you need and want from your OB/GYN, call the Inspira Health access center 888-31-BIRTH. They can provide you with a list of doctors and midwives to choose from based on your needs, and help you make your first appointment.
Tour the Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill
As you get closer and closer to delivering your baby in South jersey, I encourage you to visit the center where you’ll deliver. I can’t recommend the Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill enough. I’ve shared pictures in an earlier post, nothing beats having that first-hand experience.
I want you to be able to see the beautiful flowers on the wall. See how close your baby can be to you. Let your partner try out the couch they’ll rest on. Take a look at the tub you can soak in to ease labor pains. Envision yourself being in the same room throughout your labor.
At the new Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill, the Labor, Delivery, Recovery, and Postpartum (LDRP) rooms were designed with moms in mind. This is NOT your regular labor and delivery room. Instead, each LDRP room is welcoming maternity suite where expecting moms can feel comfortable throughout their maternity stay.
Take childbirth classes
Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill and their other medical centers offer a variety of classes for new and expecting moms. The most important class is the childbirth class. While the class can be taken at any point during a woman’s pregnancy, Jessica Pizarro, an obstetrical nurse and childbirth instructor for Inspira suggests women take the class in their second trimester (25-36 weeks).
Childbirth classes in South Jersey at Inspira Medical Centers
This isn’t the childbirth class you’ve watched on TV. Today’s childbirth classes don’t just focus on Lamaze or breathing techniques, there’s more to it than that.
At Inspira Medical Centers’ childbirth classes, women can expect:
- To be introduced to the hospital’s process and what happens when they are admitted
- To learn what to expect from their body as they progress through labor
- To create a birthing plan that’s right for them
- To discover ways to ease the discomfort of pregnancy
- To understand what’s involved with an epidural
- For their partners to get strategies to advocate for them
- To get their questions answered
- And yes, practice different breathing methods of labor
Other Inspira Medical Center classes
- Breastfeeding class
- Lactation consultants go over different positions for breastfeeding, pumping for breastmilk, and solving common problems related to breastfeeding.
- Infant CPR and Lifesaving Class
- Inspira Health’s infant CPR and lifesaving classes teach CPR and other first aid skills as they apply to infants.
Create a birth plan
Leading up to, and throughout, your pregnancy you’ll likely have different thoughts about what you want your labor experience to be like. Your medical team expects that and is ready to accommodate you along the way. Nurses, OB/GYNs, and others are available to answer your questions as you craft the plan that’s right for you.
Do you want an epidural? Do you want your partner, parents, younger children or others in the room when you deliver your baby? Would you prefer a certain kind of music during delivery? Do you have your own way to deal with labor pains? Put it in your birth plan.
Your birth plan will always be at the front of your chart. There never has to be a question about what you want.
What if the plan has to change?
Sometimes things happen. Sometimes we know ahead of time our baby will need extra medical care. Other times we don’t know. As moms, we can’t prepare for every scenario, but Inspira Medical Center Mullica Hill has. By partnering with Nemours Children's Health and having the Neonatal Intermediate Care Unit nursery, your baby will get the care he/she/they need. But here’s thing… even when your birth plan needs to change, moms are always in control.
Throughout my interviews with the Inspira Health medical team, the message has always been clear: moms own their pregnancy, and Inspira is there to make moms feel supported.
Pack your bags.
Yes, bags. At Inspira Medical centers Mullica Hill, partners or a support person are able to stay with laboring moms throughout their stay. The LDRP rooms have sofa couches that can convert to a comfortable place to sleep. With just a flip of the couch cushions, partners have a mattress to rest on. So, when packing your bags, make sure your partner packs theirs too.
Finally, relax. If you are delivering at one of Inspira’s maternity centers, you can expect care like nowhere else in South Jersey. Whether you had time to read all the books, follow all of the tips, do all of the things to get ready that you wanted to or not, Inspira is ready for you. You’re in control, and you CAN – and will – own your delivery experience.
