Online Tour of Labor and Delivery

Welcome to the Online Labor and Delivery Tour. Labor and Delivery is part of the Gilmore Women and Infants Center at Allegheny General Hospital.

The Gilmore Women and Infants Center was named in honor of the late James Gilmore, M.D., former OB-GYN chair at AGH.  Allegheny General is a 698-bed academic medical center which provides a wide range of diagnostic, medical and surgical services to help you through your pregnancy and delivery.  Our goal is to provide the special attention needed by new moms and babies at this most important time. 

This photographic tour will make you  familiar with the admission process and our unit  in order to make you comfortable when it’s time to have your baby at our hospital.

Once Labor Starts

When you suspect your labor has started, call your doctor or nurse midwife before coming to Labor and Delivery. You will be asked your due date, how far apart and how long contractions are and whether or not your water has broken. Once told to come to Labor and Delivery, you may go to the Emergency entrance of the hospital on Sandusky St. where you will be taken by wheelchair to Labor & Delivery . 

Parking

There is temporary parking in the ER area.  Your husband or support person may be asked to move the car later to the visitors garage on James St.  If you're in very early labor, are comfortable and prefer to walk, you may park your own car in the James St. Visitors Garage and walk to the elevators in the main lobby.

Labor

Once in L&D, you will be met by one of the Labor Room nurses.  She will ask you some questions about your labor and then take you into a Triage Room. The nurse will give you a gown to change into and ask you to collect a urine specimen. 

When you return to the room, the nurse will check your temperature, pulse and blood pressure.  She will connect you to an External Fetal Monitor to check your baby’s heart rate and to see if you are having contractions. 

The leads for the monitor are placed on your belly and strapped in place.The nurse will ask you additional questions about your signs of labor and then notify your physician and the resident on call.  

The physician or nurse midwife will do a vaginal exam to

determine if you are in labor.

If you are in labor, you will either walk or be taken by wheelchair (depending on your level of comfort) to an LDR.  An LDR is a labor, delivery and recovery room. Each room has a birthing bed which adjusts to different positions to make you comfortable for labor.  The rooms are also equipped with state-of the art equipment to handle both normal and high risk deliveries.

When you enter the LDR, the fetal monitor is

reattached. The fetal monitor will be used throughout your labor  to monitor your contractions and your baby's heartbeat. This allows for the early detection of any problems. Once you are admitted, if you would like to walk while laboring, we will first monitor the baby for a short time. If we have not detected any problems with the baby, you can walk on the 12th floor. If you walk, you will be asked to return hourly for intermittent monitoring until your bag of water breaks.  

Your nurse obtains a comprehensive health history and continues to assess your labor. You are asked to sign a consent form for both a vaginal delivery and a cesarean delivery, if it becomes necessary. You are also asked to sign a consent for a circumcision if you want your baby boy circumcised. If you have discussed a birth plan with your physician, now is the time to let the nurse know of your choices.

Next, the nurse draws some blood for routine testing.  You may have an IV started on admission unless your doctor/nurse midwife orders otherwise.  At AGH, for a vaginal delivery, enemas are no longer ordered for labor.

Each room is equipped with cable TV. You may bring a CD or cassette player. You may want to bring relaxation or music tapes to listen to in labor.  Each room has a telephone on which you can call out, but no one can call in.  Please have your support person  keep your friends and relatives updated.

Each room has a private bathroom with a shower massage that may be used in labor.  There is a comfortable lounge chair for your support person, which converts to a bed, if needed.  At Allegheny, we also have a rocking chair that you can sit in or a birthing ball to sit on to help ease the pain from your contractions.  Your nurse will be more than happy to help you change position or move to the rocking chair or birthing ball.

Your husband or support person may stay with you the entire time while you are in labor, providing comfort and support. 

Your nurse will also be with you almost continuously, monitoring your condition and your baby’s and seeing to your needs. 

Your physician/nurse midwife will be close by, checking on you on a regular basis, evaluating your baby’s status and discussing the progress of your labor.

The Gilmore Women and Infants Center has three perinatologists, physicians who specialize in high risk pregnancy.  Your doctor/nurse midwife can consult with them at any time during your pregnancy or labor.  The  Labor and Delivery staff are trained to handle both  low-risk and  high-risk deliveries.

AGH has a Level 3 Intensive Care Nursery staffed 24 hours/day with neonatologists, nurse practitioners and physicians assistants that specialize in caring for sick or premature infants. The ICN is conveniently located on the same floor as Labor and Delivery and easily accessible in an emergency.

An anesthesiologist is available in-house 24 hours/day.  Shortly after being admitted, the anesthesiologist sees you to obtain your medical history and to assess your needs for pain relief. He will then be available to insert a continuous epidural when needed.

Delivery

When you feel the urge to push, one of the doctors or your nurse midwife will be called in to examine you. If your cervix is completely dilated, then it's time to push the baby out.

Your nurse will help you into a good pushing position.  There are many good positions that you can try with the birthing bed to effectively push your baby out. Many women start pushing in a semi-upright position with their partner supporting their backs.

Pushing the baby out sometimes takes awhile and some women like to turn onto their sides after awhile.  Your nurse can help you to change position and get comfortable.  Changing position will also help the baby to move down the birth canal.

Some women choose to use the "squatting bar," which attaches to the birthing bed and can give good leverage when pushing, especially when the baby is not in the ideal position.

When it’s time for you to deliver, of course your support person is right there with you. Your nurse is there, too, helping through the final stages of delivery.  Your physician or nurse midwife will be called in to deliver the baby and the LDR will be prepared.

The bottom half of the birthing bed is removed and your feet are placed in footrests for the delivery. Sterile drapes and delivery instruments are kept in a nearby cart, which is moved over to the birthing bed for the delivery. 

And then comes the moment that you have been waiting for for nine long months!  The birth of your beautiful baby boy or girl!  No one can describe the incredible joy that you feel at this moment.

Following the delivery, your doctor or midwife can

place the baby directly on your abdomen for a few minutes. Be sure to tell us if you'd like this done.

After you see the baby, he or she is then taken over to the infant warmer to be assessed.  Once the baby is in  the warmer, a soft temperature probe is placed on the abdomen to measure the baby’s body temperature.  The "warmer" is a radiant heater which increases and decreases its temperature based on the baby’s body temperature. 

The nurse checks the baby’s color, heart rate, breathing, crying and tone and assigns an APGAR score at one and five minutes.  In the warmer, the baby is identified with baby bands and footprints. One copy of the footprints is given to you for the baby book, and the other is kept in your permanent medical record. Babies are banded at this time with a soft pink or blue band. The mother and father or another designated person are then given matching bands with the same identification information that is on the baby's band.

Recovery

After the baby is assessed and the placenta (afterbirth) has been delivered, the baby is brought back to you.  During this special time right after delivery, you can breastfeed or just open the blanket and count fingers and toes.  Mothers are encouraged to breastfeed at this time, since the babies are usually alert and suck well.  If you need help with breastfeeding the first time, just ask your delivery nurse.

You may call friends or relatives from your room to tell them the good news.  If you have visitors in the waiting room, they will be called back to see the new baby.  Your family and friends will enjoy the opportunity to hold the new addition to your family.  Grandparents and siblings will also have the chance to share in this special time.

Your doctor or nurse midwife will congratulate you on a job well done!

Postpartum

You remain in the LDR for approximately one to two hours to recover. After recovery, you and your baby are moved to 12C, the Gilmore Women and Infants Center Postpartum Unit, where you will remain until discharge.  The typical stay for a vaginal delivery is 2 days, and 3-4 days for a Cesarean Section. 

The Gilmore Women and Infants Center Postpartum Unit boasts 18 private, spacious, contemporary postpartum suites, as well as a family waiting area for the Intensive Care Nursery.

On the Postpartum Unit, your nurse will check your vital signs and give you a brief orientation to the unit.  Your obstetrician and pediatrician see you daily and answer any questions you may have. The nursing staff checks on you and your new baby frequently. If you have any questions or concerns--the staff is always there to help you. You will be taught how to care for your baby, including bathing and breast or formula feeding. AGH has three Lactation Consultants, breastfeeding specialists, who can answer any breastfeeding questions either in person while you are in the hospital or over the phone, once you are discharged.

Safety

We at Allegheny General Hospital are committed to keeping your infant safe during your stay at the Gilmore Women and Infants Center. Additional safety measures are listed below.

ID Badges

Staff with authorization to take infants from the nursery or your room have special colored ID badges that are unique to the maternity floor. You should not give your infant to any staff not visibly displaying this special ID Badge

Visitor Stickers

Both Labor and Delivery and the Maternity Unit which includes the Nursery are locked units.  All visitors are required to obtain a visitor's sticker from the Main Lobby Information Desk or the Security Office. When coming to the unit, they have to call from the phone in the hallway and display their visitor's sticker to enter the unit. The

hospital also has a sophisticated security system which is activated at this time. There are alarms and video cameras at all exits.

Nursery

While you are being admitted to your room, the baby is admitted to the nursery for a complete head-to-toe evaluation. The baby's temperature, weight and length and  a complete physical exam is done by the nurse. Any problems are reported to the pediatrician on call, as well as your own pediatrician. 

The baby's cord is painted with a liquid called "Triple Dye" to help the cord dry out and to prevent infection.  An injection of Vitamin K is given to the baby  to help

with blood clotting.  In addition, state law requires that all newborn baby's eyes be treated with erythromycin ointment  to prevent infection.  Cold babies may stay in the nursery for a short time under the radiant warmer until the temperature stabilizes.  Your pediatrician is notified of your delivery.

AGH provides diapers, T-shirts, blankets and formula for your use in the hospital.  For security reasons, each baby's picture is taken and kept on file. Using a digital camera, parents are able to view the pictures immediately and decide if they would like to purchase any.

Once you and your baby have been completely checked out, you will be reunited.  From that point on, the baby can stay with you as long as you like.  You tell us.

Rooming-In

One thing our new parents like to know is that our babies and moms are treated individually--what might be good for one might not be good for another.  The babies may room - in with you 24 hours a day or may be taken back to the nursery for the night.  Twenty-four hour rooming-in is especially nice for first time mothers, who get more experience caring for their newborn before discharge and also for breastfeeding mothers, who then can breastfeed on demand throughout the night. 

If you choose not to have rooming-in, the baby is  brought out to your room early in the morning after the pediatrician examines him or her and returned to the nursery in the late evening when you are ready to retire for the night.  If you are formula feeding and not rooming-in, the baby will be fed by the nurses in the nursery at night.  If you are breastfeeding and not rooming-in, the baby will be brought out to nurse at least twice during the night.

Birth Certificate

You are asked to complete the paperwork for your baby's birth certificate while you are in the hospital.  Your nurse is available to answer any questions you may have.  The official birth certificate will then be mailed to you at home.

Visiting

Your family and friends can visit you frequently during your stay.  Allegheny General has a liberal visiting policy.  And be sure to stop at the desk and ask for the "I'm a big brother!" and "I'm a big sister!" pins for siblings!

Cybernursery

Parents who deliver at AGH have the option of having photographs of their newborns posted on the Gilmore Women and Infants Center Website (www.wpahs.org/womenshealth) in the Cybernursery at no charge.  Relatives and friends from out-of-town can go online to see your new baby shortly after his or her birth.

Babies in our Cybernursery also have their photos displayed periodically on the plasma monitor on the second floor near the cafeteria.  Brahm's Lullabye plays at the same time, alerting the guests to watch our very special babies.

To have your baby's photo posted in the Cybernursery, simply ask your nurse on the postpartum floor for the permission form to fill out.

Newborn Channel

A new mom's learning needs can be met by tuning in to the Newborn Channel, a special channel with up-to-date movies containing the most current information on caring for the newborn, breast and bottle feeding, and infant safety.  There's also information about caring for yourself physically and emotionally during the postpartum period.

Your obstetrician and pediatrician see you daily and answer any questions you may have. The nursing staff checks on you and your new baby frequently.  If you have any questions or concerns--the staff is always  there to help you.  You will be taught how to care for your baby, including bathing and breast or formula feeding.   AGH has two Lactation Consultants, breastfeeding specialists, who can answer any breastfeeding questions either in person while you are in the hospital or over the phone, once you are discharged.

Early Bird Breakfast

Early risers can enjoy our Early Bird Breakfast, a continental breakfast served to moms who awaken early to care for their newborns.  This is followed later by a complete breakfast. A technician from the Dietary Department visits you daily to inform you of the menu choices for the next day and take your order. 

Discharge

The normal stay is two days for a vaginal delivery and three-four days for a Cesarean Birth, although you may certainly go home sooner if you and your physician or nurse-midwife agree that your condition is stable.  Discharge time is 11:00 am and we ask that you make arrangements for someone to take you home the day before.  Your nurse will help you and your bundle of joy into a wheelchair to be escorted out of the hospital.

During this very special time in your life, we hope to make your stay at the Gilmore Women and Infants Center as pleasant as possible.  While you are here, if you have any questions or concerns, the staff is always available to help you.

To schedule a tour of the Labor and Delivery,
Nursery and Obstetrical Unit,
please call 1-877-284-2000.