Maternity: Your birth

Your birth

Childbirth carries with it the potential for enormous personal growth and empowerment. As such, it should be accomplished in a manner that not only promotes safety but which also recognises and enhances the emotional and spiritual nature of birth. Our specialised team will strive to help you achieve your potential.

Support Persons in the Birthing Suite

Many women enjoy the company of a close family member or friend during their labour and birth, in addition to the company of their partner.  The midwives can help you explore the role of support people during antenatal classes.  If your support person is not present during your admission to the birthing suite, the midwife caring for you will notify him/her at your request.

It is important to maintain the privacy of all women in labour. Therefore, it is necessary for staff to accompany your support person into the Birthing Suite. If they need to leave the area, we ask that they keep the midwife informed of their whereabouts.

Food and drink is provided in the birthing suite for both you and your partner.

Phone Calls

Relatives and friends are requested not to phone the birthing suite to enquire about patients. It is best to arrange for your support person to contact the people you wish to keep informed. Each Birthing Suite has a phone for you to use.

In the interests of privacy and confidentiality, staff cannot give details about progress of labour or about the baby.

Mobile phones can interfere with monitoring equipment but may be used in the Birthing Suite unless staff instruct otherwise.  Mobile phones may also be used in patient rooms but their use in all other areas of the Unit is not permitted.

Caesarean Delivery

If you have elected and booked to have a Caesarean delivery; on the day of your operation, you need to arrive at the Hospital Main Reception Desk for admission 1½ hours prior to your booked theatre time.  Please leave your luggage in your car until after your Caesarean.

If you are interested in upgrading to a Regal Suite package, please tell the Receptionist at this time, so that they can check availability.

From Front Reception you will be escorted to the Theatre Admission Centre and prepared for your Caesarean.  After your birth and recovery period you will be transferred to the Maternity Unit.  Your partner can then arrange for your luggage to be brought to your room.

Your support person may be present in the operating theatre if you have an epidural caesarean. They will be seated at the head of the operating table at the anaesthetist’s discretion.  In order to maintain a high standard of hygiene, your support person must wear full operating theatre attire.  A midwife or registered nurse will escort you while in theatre.

Where possible, your baby will remain with you after the birth, in order to provide important skin-to-skin time.  Uninterrupted skin-to-skin time, between you and your baby, for at least an hour assists in the early establishment of breast feeding, promotes bonding between you and your baby, helps to stabilise the baby’s temperature and assists in your post-operative pain management.

Baby Identification

Newborn babies are identified with two name tags which are placed on the baby immediately following his/her birth.  For safety purposes, the baby’s surname is to remain the same as the mother’s during the hospital admission.

FILM EQUIPMENT IN BIRTH SUITE AND THE OPERATING THEATRE

Ramsay Health Care recognises that unique and special moments arise in hospital that patients, families and friends may wish to capture on film.  Pindara Private Hospital needs to ensure that patient safety, clinical teamwork, the privacy of other patients, staff members and medical personnel are not compromised.  Devices that record both film and sound are not allowed in the operating suite, birth suites or special care nursery.

Single shot devices that do not record sound are permissible by the agreement of the care team members present at the time.

Film and sound may be recorded in the privacy of a patient’s own room, provided the privacy of other patients and staff members is not compromised.