Labor, Delivery & Recovery (LDR)
UMC wants this to be one of the happiest and healthiest times in anticipation of new life. A comfortable stay and quality healthcare for mother and baby is the goal.
At UMC, our brand new, state-of-the-art hospital offers the luxuries expected from a five-star hotel. Labor, Delivery and Recovery rooms provide privacy, comfort and convenience. Mother-Baby Couplet Care incudes care by one nurse from the time of birth through the family's transition to the Mother-Baby unit and until discharge. This family/patient centered model of care promotes immediate bonding, educational opportunities, and family satisfaction.
Amenities
- High-risk labor rooms
- State-of-the-art operating suites and infant security system
- All-private rooms/baths
- Bassinet for baby to stay in the mother's room after delivery
- Comfortable sleeper/recliner for “coach”
- Cozy rocking chairs for mo
- Satellite TV and wireless internet
- Bilingual staff (English and Spanish)
- Immediate access to El Paso Children’s Hospital (located just upstairs) should your baby require specialty care
Specialty Care
UMC is equipped and staffed to provide quality emergency care whenever a need arises. As a Regional Referral Center for high-risk pregnancies, our team includes:
- Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialists (high-risk pregnancy doctors)
- Anesthesiologists (pain control doctors)
- Neonatal Specialists (newborn specialty doctors)
- Obstetricians (pregnancy & childbirth doctors)
- Pediatricians (well baby doctors)
- IBCLC Lactation Consultants
These experts are available whenever needed, 24-hours-a-day, every day.
Baby-Friendly
UMC is El Paso's only designated Baby-Friendly® hospital. At UMC, our entire maternity service was revamped to meet the Baby-Friendly® requirements. We have redesigned our maternity service model to keep stable mothers and babies together from birth until discharge.
The first step of the process is to provide skin-to-skin(STS) from mother and baby immediately following birth. This helps the baby adapt to life outside the mother's body. Newborn stress levels are reduced, the heart and respiratory rate stabilizes, glucose levels increase, temperature increases and the newborn starts to move toward the breast to feed. Mothers also have decreased stress and pain levels as they begin to get to know and nurture their newborn.
We delay other typical newborn procedures until the first feed. We also provide STS for stable Cesarean birth mothers sometimes immediately following the birth or within the first hour in the L&D recovery room. We also encourage a support person to attend Cesarean births. Following these changes, we've demonstrated that over 100% percent of our mothers who deliver vaginally and by Cesarean initiate breastfeeding within the first hour after birth. Our exclusive breastfeeding rate has steadily increased from 16% in 2012 to 44% in 2016. In addition, we now have International Board Certified Consultants (IBCLC) and a cadre of Certified Lactation Consultants working both in the hospital and outpatient clinic settings to provide support to mothers.”
Our goal is to keep mothers and babies together for 23 hours per day. Following the birth, the family is transferred to the 30-bed Mother-Baby Unit. Newborn assessments, baths and other procedures are done at the bedside to assist new families in learning to care for the baby.
Sometimes mothers and babies need extra support. All high risk births are attended by the High Risk Team comprised of El Paso Children's Hospital's physicians, nurses and respiratory therapists. A nursery for newborns is used for babies needing closer observation immediately after birth. However, most mothers and babies are able to stay together immediately after delivery. This is called "rooming in."