At The Birthing Suites at Springhill, all of our rooms are birthing rooms, offering a more homelike setting and yet providing the highest level of medical support should any complications arise. If you should have a high-risk vaginal delivery or a Cesarean birth, our high-risk delivery/operating rooms, located within our Labor & Delivery Unit, offer the combination of high-tech and high-touch. With your physician's approval, up to three people (this includes your partner) may usually stay with you during your labor and delivery. Possible exceptions are: during a pandemic, during your admit assessment, during the placement of an epidural, or if you have general anesthesia. You will have a nurse close by at all times to answer your questions, assist you in any way, and help your family throughout your labor. While you are at The Birthing Suites, your family may visit you or wait in our roomy Waiting Room, which offers comfy seating, as well as snack, drink, and coffee machines. To protect your privacy, there is an intercom outside of the entry to The Birthing Suites. Your family must use this when they wish to enter the unit.
Pre-Admission
For your convenience, you may complete your pre-admission process and pay your co-payment before ever entering the hospital. The SMC Pre-Registration Office is located at our Corporate Building on Cody Road. You will need to bring your driver's license, your insurance card, and your insurance co-payment if you would like to pay it at that time. Admitting Registration will still be necessary when you come in as a patient, but the process can be much simpler if you have already completed the necessary paperwork and paid your insurance co-payment. If you have any questions, please feel free to call the Pre-registration office at 251.460.5240.
Scheduled Cesarean Births & Inductions
If you are entering the hospital for an induction of labor or a scheduled Cesarean birth, you will need to come through the main Admitting office on the first floor. You will need your driver's license, insurance card, and insurance co-payment. If you have been scheduled for an induction of labor, you will need to arrive at the hospital one hour before your scheduled induction time. If you are arriving for a scheduled Cesarean birth, you will need to arrive two hours before your scheduled Cesarean time. Once the Admitting clerk has completed your registration, you may go directly to The Birthing Suites. Please remember that if you are coming in for an induction or scheduled Cesarean birth, do not eat or drink.
When to Come to the Hospital
Many couples are concerned if they will know when to come to the hospital. Basically, you will need to come to the hospital if any one of the following things occur:
- Progressive contractions - This means contractions which over time come more frequently, last longer, and become more intense.
- Rupture of membranes - If your "water breaks," or membranes rupture, you should come to the hospital right away. If you suspect your membranes might have ruptured, please do not try to diagnose this yourself at home.
- Heavy vaginal bleeding - If you should have vaginal bleeding which requires the wearing of a pad, please come to the hospital right away. There are many things which can cause vaginal bleeding in pregnancy. While many are not detrimental, some can be very serious, so please call your physician and come to the hospital.
A significant change in the pain you are experiencing, or unrelenting abdominal pain - while this may not be labor, unrelenting and/or severe abdominal pain needs to be assessed by a physician.
When coming to the hospital for signs of labor, please come through the Emergency Department at the rear of the hospital. Tell the Registration Clerk that you are a patient for Labor & Delivery. You will need your driver's license, your insurance card, and your insurance co-payment. Once the registration process has been completed, personnel from The Birthing Suites will escort you to your Suite. For your safety, we will ask that you ride by wheelchair. Please remember, if you think you are in labor, do not eat or drink.