PERINATAL SERVICES
Due to COVID, current visitation restrictions are in place AND MASKING IS REQUIRED
We would like to update all patients on their maternity care during the COVID-19 pandemic, and assure you that our dedicated team is committed to providing safe and effective care to you and your newborn. The following changes have been made.
1. Mothers may have 1 named visitor, that one designated adult will not be able to switch out with other individuals. The named visitor will be allowed to stay as long as the hospital health screening requirements are met
2. No children are allowed in the hospital for visitation
3. Mother’s named visitor will be asked to mask when healthcare workers are in the room. Staff, patients, and named visitors are required to be masked in the hospital hallways.
About Us:
Liberty Regional Medical Center Perinatal Services Department is a Level I center which provides care to childbearing women and newborns around the clock. There are 2 "OB triage" rooms on our unit, which are used for observation for pregnant women. We have 4 Labor and Delivery Rooms, where the mom-to-be receives nursing care and support throughout the labor and delivery process. After delivery, the mother and her newborn together are transferred to one of our 4 postpartum rooms. Here, she can adapt to caring for her newborn with guidance and teaching from nursing staff, while she and her newborn are assessed on a regular basis by nursing staff. There is an operating and recovery room on the unit for women who need to have a cesarean section, either planned or unplanned.
The "newborn nursery" is also in the Perinatal Services Department. It is utilized for newborn assessments, procedures (such as circumcisions), and for any newborn requiring a higher level of nursing care. When it is not necessary for the newborn to remain in the nursery, he or she "rooms in" with mom, to promote bonding and facilitate the new mother feeling comfortable and confident caring for her newborn.
Georgia 5-STAR Hospital Initiative
Liberty Regional Medical Center participates in the "Georgia 5-STAR Hospital Initiative", which is a program to help encourage and support breastfeeding. Our nursing staff is knowledgeable and available to help new mothers and babies to breastfeed during their stay in our department.
http://dph.georgia.gov/georgia-5-star
Prenatal Education Classes Online:
While the nursing staff in the Perinatal Services Department is knowledgeable and enjoys opportunities to give our new parents instruction regarding taking care of their newborn, there are Childbirth classes available for the mother to be who wishes to participate. There are online prenatal education classes that are conducted by Pickles & Ice Cream which is an extension of Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia. They offer a FREE 90 minute online course were mothers can learn about pregnancy, baby care, WIC, insurance, Medicaid, staying healthy, & more! Mothers can earn up to a $20 Amazon gift card for participating. Classes are every Thursday from 5:00pm-6:30pm and mothers can register here: https://bit.ly/2xitnbl
For more information you can visit the Pickles & Ice Cream website: https://hmhbga.org/education/prenatal-education/
Promoting Skin To Skin
Liberty Regional Medical Center Perinatal Services Department works hard to provide the best care possible, including making changes in the care we give when updated information becomes available. One of the changes we have made is participating in "The Magical Hour" after delivery. Studies have shown that initiating "skin to skin" contact as soon as possible after birth, by simply allowing the newborn to lay against mother’s chest (skin to skin), he or she can have an easier time adjusting to living outside of mother’s womb. The list of benefits proven by using this simple, enjoyable method is very long. A few benefits are that the baby stays warm and calm during the first hour. Skin to skin time after birth helps to normalize heart rate and breathing patterns in the newborn.
If mother and her newborn baby are both stable (not having problems requiring medical intervention), we like to place the new baby onto mothers chest and allow mother and newborn to bond for about an hour, which will give the new mother and her baby an opportunity to obtain the benefits of "The Magical Hour." This time frame of "an hour" can be adjusted to the new mothers comfort level. During this time, the new mother and her baby are assessed by nursing staff, who try to do so with minimal interruption to the "Magical Hour."
http://www.magicalhour.com
Safety & Security
To help ensure the safety of our moms and newborns, Perinatal Services Department is a "locked unit." To be able to enter the unit, visitors press the "doorbell" button on the wall outside of the double doors. The doors are unlocked by a staff member only after being identified as someone who should enter the unit, via intercom and monitor screen. The doors must be unlocked by a staff member each time a visitor exits the unit, as an additional safety measure. Staff members of our department are easy to identify because we all have an image of 3 hearts under our photo on our ID badge. While nursing staff may take the newborn to the nursery for assessments, mothers and their designated support person are instructed to not allow anyone without these 3 hearts on their badge to take the newborn out of room for any reason.
Contact Us
We are always looking for ways to make Liberty Regional Medical Center better. If you have something that you would like to here from you. If you would like more information about our services or anything else you have learned on this site, contact us.
