We recommend that the two of you introduce your new baby to your family together. Once you have had some time bonding as a new family, we will invite your friends and family into your Birthing Suite for you to introduce your new baby to them. We recommend that if you are breastfeeding, that you do so within the first two hours of delivery. After your baby has warmed to the appropriate temperature following delivery your nurse will bathe your baby in the room so you can take pictures and video the first bath. All nursing assessments, weights, and procedures are done at the bedside unless your baby requires special care. If your baby is early or requires any special care, the baby will be transferred to the Nursery. You are free to come into the Nursery at any time with very few exceptions (i.e. report time or while any sterile procedures are being done).
Infant Security
Springhill Medical Center takes the security of our patients very seriously! That’s why all entrances to the Nursery are locked with coded locks. No one can enter without the code or without permission from the Nursery personnel. Infant security bands are placed on all of our babies, along with identification bands with matching numbers for mom and baby. Our staff has unit specific IDs which they will show you on admit to our unit.
If at anytime, for any reason, you feel uncomfortable with someone removing your baby, do NOT let your baby go with that person. Instead, put on your call light and tell the person who answers the light that you need to speak with your nurse immediately. We want you and your baby to feel as safe as you feel in your own home.
CertaScan
Springhill Medical Center is the first hospital in south Alabama to bring in an innovative Infant Safety System developed by CertaScan Technologies (www.certascantek.com). The proprietary system allows the hospital to capture high resolution newborn footprints which can be used for precise identification in situations such as an abduction, lost baby, or natural disaster.
The Newborn Safety System — which uses LiveScan Technology — has garnered the attention and praise from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and has been included as a recommendation for hospitals in its most recent Infant Security Guidelines.
The System is entirely safe for use on babies and provides outstanding footprint quality. Nurses prefer the System because it is easy to use, seamless to adopt, and replaces the time-consuming and messy ink and paper method. The digital footprints and security photo can be stored efficiently in the newborn’s electronic medical record. And, much like fingerprints, footprints are a biometric unique to each baby, so they can be used for identification throughout a lifetime.
Each new mom receives an attractive certificate of her newborn’s footprint during her stay. When she returns home, she can visit www.firstfootprint.com to enhance the certificate with colors, different fonts, and borders. She can also download a digital copy of her baby’s footprint. These additional benefits are provided as a gift from Springhill Medical Center at no cost to moms.
