Minden Medical Center has been providing services for the unique physical, social and spiritual needs of women for years. The Women’s Services Center provides a complete program of medical, surgical and educational services to accommodate the unique needs of female patients. We take pride in providing exceptional women’s care, close to home.
Interested in birthing and breastfeeding classes? Sign up here!
Expectant parents need not look any further for the perfect place to welcome your newest family member to the world. The staff of the Women’s Services Center are compassionate and dedicated to providing families with an exceptional birthing experience. When it’s time for that special arrival, our experienced and highly-skilled staff is waiting to offer you comfort and care. We want to share this special occasion with you and we encourage you to make an appointment to visit our unit, tour our state-of-the-art LDR suites, and meet our wonderful team.
Other benefits include:
• 24-Hour Anesthesia Coverage
• Private Labor, Delivery and Recovery suites
• Modern Cesarean Section Suite
• Nurses Government Certified in Perinatal Care
• Pediatrician of your choice on discharge
• Level 2 Nursery
• Free Childbirth and Breastfeeding Education Classes for our Patients (Please inquire about the next available session.)
• Wireless Internet Access Available to Patients and Visitors
The Baby Place at Minden Medical Center delivers more than 400 babies a year and continues to offer sensitive, personalized health services to each woman, baby, and father. Fathers, siblings and grandparents are invited to participate in welcoming new babies. However, we ask that you choose only two (2) individuals to be with mom in the actual delivery. This is to ensure the safety of mom and baby. Parental education is also available to new parents. Please call (318) 371-5660 for more information or if you have questions about:
• Childbirth Preparation
• Breastfeeding Preparation
• Nutrition
• Infant Care
• Infant Safety and Accident Prevention
Our team of maternity professionals includes board-certified obstetrician/gynecologists, whom you can choose to help deliver your baby. Minden Medical Center wants the birth of your baby to be special time in your family’s life. Thank you for choosing to deliver your baby close to home!
At Minden Medical Center, we believe that childbirth is a family experience. We make accommodations to be sure the friends and family you’d like to be there can share in the experience. Remember that labor can be very overwhelming and emotional, and to provide the safest delivery it is best to limit visitors to only those there to provide support. We ask that you choose only two individuals to be present in the actual delivery. The Women’s Services Birthing Center permits 24-hour visitation for your primary support people. All other visitors should follow the hospital visitation policy. Your new baby’s siblings may visit with an adult. Anyone sick or recently exposed (within the past three weeks) to an infectious disease (such as chicken pox) should not visit the Birthing Center.
Labor and Deliver Room: No more than three (3) visitors are allowed at a time. The staff may request that fewer visitors stay, depending on the conditions of your baby. Visitors also may be asked to step out if you’d like them to or to provide care.
During Delivery: One (1) to two (2) visitors may be present at the time of your baby’s birth.
After Your Baby is Born: You will need some time to physically and emotionally recover from labor and delivery. Following your baby’s birth, you will be able to be together to bond and get to know each other. Your baby will be placed skin-to-skin immediately or as soon as possible after delivery to facilitate bonding and assist with breastfeeding needs. Your baby will be in the room with you at all times to prepare you for home care with our in-room assistance.
Incoming Calls: For your convenience, there are phones in the Birthing Suites as well as the Postpartum Rooms. Our staff will get messages to you, however for confidentiality and to protect you, we will not give out information regarding you or your baby.
Outgoing Calls: To make outgoing calls, dial 9 and the area code. Regional and long distance calls require a calling card or operator assistance. Public phones are located in the main lobby.
Breastmilk is the optimum nutrition source for new babies. Minden Medical Center’s breastfeeding initiative is designed to help mothers who want to breastfeed through support and education. We have a number of tools in place to help our mothers. Rooming-in and skin-to-skin contact are both policies that we have in place that encourage successful breastfeeding.
Skin-to-Skin: Immediately after delivery, newborns are placed skin-to-skin with their mother. If the mother receives a C-Section delivery, the newborn is placed skin-to-skin with mother as soon as mother is stable after the C-Section. We strive to have baby skin-to-skin before mom ever leaves the operating room. This decreases stress of mother and baby. For our breastfeeding mothers, skin-to-skin facilitates bonding, early breastfeeding cue recognition, and greater early milk supply. For all infants it helps to regulate their temperature, breathing, heart rate and neurological development, in turn decreasing the amount of time they spend separated from their parents. The mothers will notice a decrease in pain immediately postpartum. The majority of their care can be given in the delivery room with little to no parental separation required.
Rooming In: Mother and infant should sleep in proximity to each other to facilitate breastfeeding (AAP, 2005). The Nursery at MMC follows a policy of Newborn Rooming In. This policy facilitates parental bonding and ensures adequate education of parents. All newborns are taken to the mother’s room and are required to Room In according to the scheduled times. We also encourage that newborns stay in the room with parents overnight if possible. We use a hands-on approach and prefer to assist you as well as your baby in your room for your comfort.
While we offer classes to mothers that want to breastfeed, we also help you learn proper techniques and how handle situations that might arise that provide obstacles for you while you are in the hospital. We will also provide you with support when you go home.
Call (318) 371-5660 for information about education classes or email [email protected].
Frequently asked questions about breastfeeding:
With skin-to-skin your baby is placed on your bare chest wearing only a diaper and hat and will be covered with a warm blanket. The baby snuggles on your chest covered with a blanket, just like a kangaroo’s pouch. Doctors say that holding a baby skin-to-skin is the “best care” for your baby. Skin-to-skin helps regulate your babies’ temperature and heart rate after delivery.
The Birth Certificate process at Minden Medical Center is performed via Electronic Birth Certificate Software (EBC). Information is obtained from the parents via a form provided by the Nursery personnel. A Health Information Management Technician transports information from the form into the Electronic Birth Certificate. The HIM Technician must obtain a parent’s signature prior to discharge. Parents are instructed to ensure that all information on the certificate is correct due to the fact that the Louisiana Vital Records Registry imposes a $27 correction fee per error.
In the event a signature is not obtained, a certified letter must be mailed by the day following discharge. Weekend discharges would be mailed the following working day. A parent is given five (5) days to sign the Birth Certificate. All certificates must be mailed within fifteen (15) days from the date of birth.
Louisiana Vital Records Registry
P.O. Box 60630
New Orleans, LA 70160
Attention: Records Acceptance Clerk
For information on how to order Louisiana birth records, visit the Louisiana Department of Health’s website.
A Complimentary Birth Certificate is a service provided by Minden Medical Center. The Certificate is used as a keepsake for the family of the newborn. (NOTE: This is not the actual Birth Certificate.) Footprints of the baby are obtained by the Nursery personnel. Information is typed by the Health Information Management Technician, signed by the delivery physician, and the Administrator of Minden Medical Center. Upon completion, the certificate is mailed to the parents.
For more information about Health Information Management, please contact Teresa Killingworth at (318) 371-3233.
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