Your Childbirth Experience

At UM St. Joseph Medical Center, we know that childbirth is a sacred experience. From the minute you learn you are pregnant, you begin planning your baby's birth day.

If this is your first baby, you may not immediately know what to expect or what you want for your childbirth experience. We are here with expert care and support as you plan for this exciting journey.

We understand that all pregnancies and all childbirth experiences are different. Whether you are considering a water birth or are experiencing a high-risk pregnancy, our goal is to respect your birth plan wishes as much as possible while keeping you and your baby safe.

Learn more about all we offer. Find out about tours and visitors to our Mother-Baby Unit or sign up for childbirth classes.

What to Expect: Maternity Care at UM St. Joseph

Our OBGYN physicians, certified nurse-midwives, maternal-fetal medicine specialists and childbirth educators work as a team to help give you as smooth and comfortable a pregnancy, labor and delivery experience as possible.

While You Are in Labor

When you arrive at Labor and Delivery, you will be assigned a nurse dedicated to seeing you through labor. The private rooms have the technology needed to keep you and your baby safe and homey touches to make you feel comfortable.

Our labor nurses are trained in current fetal monitoring techniques so your baby's heart rate can be observed at any time. We have an in-house obstetrics anesthesiologist available 24/7, and our physicians see you throughout the entirety of your labor process. Moms may have clear liquids while in labor.

During Delivery

Most moms will give birth in the same room where they labored with their partner at their side, or perhaps even in our hydrotherapy tub.

The birthing unit is equipped with operating rooms for when a Cesarean birth is necessary. And typically your partner can stay with you during a C-section. We allow moms to choose labor following a previous C-section, if they wish, making our C-section rate low.

If You Have a C-Section

If you're having a Cesarean delivery, you can be assured that our care team is dedicated to helping you have a beautiful, comfortable and wonderful C-section experience. UM St. Joseph offers Enhanced Recovery After Cesarean (or ERAC), to help make sure you get the best and safest care possible following your surgery, for a faster recovery and quicker return to home. 

After Delivery

After you deliver, your labor nurse will care for you while a dedicated neonatal nurse will perform a specialized newborn assessment and focus exclusively on your baby, to provide a smooth transition to his or her new surroundings.

Should it be necessary, the neonatology team in our NICU is ready to care for your baby as well.

After your recovery in Labor and Delivery, you and your baby will transfer to the Mother-Baby Unit for maternity care.