Labor and delivery

We want to help you and your family feel as prepared as possible when it's time to welcome your little one. To do this, we offer a variety of maternity classes and invite you to register for delivery before the big day.

Maternity classes

To support you during your pregnancy, our experienced childbirth educators offer a range of childbirth and family education classes. These classes are designed to help you and your partner prepare for labor, delivery and parenthood.

Register for delivery in advance

We recommend expectant families complete our online registration form prior to your delivery day to save time and make the process as smooth as possible. You will need to set up an account. Once you have completed that, click on "Upcoming visit." Fill out this form and submit it. You will see a green check mark. This is the only confirmation you will receive.

If you have any questions regarding your financial responsibility related to birthing costs, please call our Financial Services team at (866) 475-1385.

Our warm and inviting labor and delivery unit is renovated and offers all-private rooms. We encourage family attendance at birth and have flexible visiting hours. We also provide room service for you, sleeping accommodations for your partner and a dedicated postpartum recovery unit that allows your baby to room-in with you.

Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

For babies who need extra care and monitoring after birth, our hospital also features an advanced Level III NICU. Here we offer a family-style design, providing each patient with a private room with an individualized, womb-like environment. This allows parents to room-in with their newborn (when medically appropriate) as an added opportunity to bond.

Other features of our 17-bed NICU include:

• A family waiting area
• Specialized cameras stream secure, 24/7 live video of your baby, promoting parent-child bonding, helping to lessen stress and worry and allowing for memorable milestones to be captured on video or photo for families
• NICU graduate reunion, an event for families to spend time with their baby’s caregivers and visit with other NICU graduate families
• Private family rooms to accommodate multiple births
• Refrigerator and breastfeeding supplies
• Secure unit with specialized identification for entry

Laboring and delivery options

Whether you would prefer an unmedicated birth or pain-relieving options, we can help. Our team offers a full spectrum of labor options, including aromatherapy, doula services, midwife support, birthing balls, laboring tubs, epidurals and nitrous oxide. Additionally, we provide 24/7 access to anesthesiology services.

If a cesarean section (C-section) is required, we can provide a family-friendly experience and non-opioid postoperative options. For an extra layer of support, our program includes 24/7 obstetric hospitalists. These board-certified obstetricians can step in to help your OBGYN or midwife as needed.

Special accommodations after childbirth

We understand each family is unique, so our team strives to accommodate different preferences after delivery, such as:

• Cord clamping — Some families prefer to wait several minutes (or longer) after birth before clamping the umbilical cord, letting your baby get additional blood. Let us know your wishes, and we will do our best to accommodate your plan.
• Cord blood and stem cell banking — We can help you with donating cord blood or banking stem cells. Speak to your OBGYN and medical team to make these arrangements.
• Placenta options — If you would like to keep your placenta for encapsulation or donation, we can assist with those accommodations.

As part of your postpartum care, we will support you and your baby in our mom/baby unit for the rest of your hospital stay. Here, our nurses will work with you and your family to help everyone learn how to best care for the new baby.

We offer a variety of services in our mom/baby unit, including:

• Breastfeeding support
• Hand-knitted or crocheted baby hat, courtesy of our nurses (when available)
• Pastoral care services, such as visiting with your family and providing communion

Breastfeeding support

If you choose to breastfeed your baby, you will have access to breastfeeding support while in the mom/baby unit. We also host a breastfeeding support group for new moms and babies eight weeks old and younger.

In this group setting, moms have the opportunity to meet with a lactation consultant, receive reassurance and ask questions. Please attempt to bring your infant ready for a feeding.

New Baby Breastfeeding Support Group
Every Wednesday from 10:00am to 11:00am
Second Floor Conference Center at Swedish Medical Center

There is no cost to attend, but we ask only mom and baby attend (and make a reservation) due to limited space.

In case of inclement weather, please call the lactation line at (303) 788-7842 for updates concerning the breastfeeding support group. You will be contacted directly for parent education classes and tours.