By: Shari Kelly, MSN/MSHA, RN, NE-BC, C-ONQS, RNC-OB, executive director, Cherese Mari Laulhere BirthCare Center and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach
The Cherese Mari Laulhere BirthCare Center at MemorialCare Miller Children’s & Women’s Hospital Long Beach now proudly offers all private rooms throughout the entire birthing experience from labor to the Mother-Baby (postpartum) Unit. The private rooms are spacious with large windows for natural light. In addition, the partner can now always stay the night with the new mom. This brings comfort at the already safest place to have a baby.
Miller Children’s & Women’s is the only hospital in Los Angeles and Orange Counties where expectant moms and their babies receive advanced care by in-house pediatric and maternity sub-specialists under one roof – making it the safest place to have a baby.
OB hospitalists work exclusively at the hospital to assist and care for a patient through labor and delivery if her regular physician can’t be there. OB hospitalists are board-certified in obstetrics and have significant experience in safe delivery techniques useful in difficult situations, such as a baby in breech position, multiple births and extended labor.
In addition, maternal-fetal medicine specialists provide immediate and, when needed, continuing care for women after childbirth. If a delivery requires special circumstances, maternal-fetal medicine specialists are available 24/7 to intervene and provide hands-on care during delivery. Often at other hospitals, maternal-fetal medicine specialists only act as consultants. This hands-on care helps ensure the health of the mother and baby.
OB hospitalists, maternal-fetal medicine specialists and OB-GYNs at Miller Children’s & Women’s are dedicated to avoiding unnecessary C-sections, and have been recognized with several awards for achieving the statewide cesarean section rate of 23.9% or lower for low-risk, first-birth deliveries. Through the team’s work to lower the C-section rate, Anthem Blue Cross has named Miller Children’s & Women’s a Blue Distinction Center for Maternity.
If a newborn needs immediate care at delivery, neonatologists arrive to the delivery room to provide care and take the baby to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Miller Children’s & Women’s has the fifth largest NICU in California and cares for the most low birthweight babies in LA County, Orange County and the Inland Empire. The NICU has a level IV designation from the American Academy of Pediatrics, which means that it has advanced care capabilities to care for the sickest babies, and offers the largest Small Baby Program in the region.
With comprehensive, expert services under one roof and all private rooms, the team at Miller Children’s & Women’s offers specialized care tailored to the needs of each family. To learn more, visit millerchildrens.org/Firsts.