Personalized labor and delivery options at the Hutchinson Health BirthCare Center

When you have a baby at the Hutchinson Health BirthCare Center, you’re choosing peace of mind, an experienced care team and a comfortable setting that feels like home. We’re here to honor your chosen birth plan and provide you with exceptional medical care and support for this special time with your little one.

At our birth center, you’ll find:

  • A comfortable and nurturing environment
  • Private birthing suites
  • Multiple pain-management options
  • One-on-one nursing support during labor and delivery
  • Aromatherapy
  • Massage
  • Pediatricians for neonatal illness available 24/7
  • Breastfeeding support services
  • Childbirth education classes
  • Breastfeeding classes
  • Follow-up care after birth

Your care team

Depending on your needs and wishes, you might work with different members of our team, including OB-GYN physicians, family physicians who also deliver babies, specialized birth care nurses and certified lactation consultants. Our maternity team is known for their kind and caring labor support, breastfeeding guidance and postpartum care.

We can accommodate vaginal and cesarean (C-section) deliveries. We provide exceptional one-on-one labor support and offer a variety of options to help keep you comfortable during labor and delivery. These include:

  • Whirlpool tub
  • Birthing ball
  • Massage
  • Aromatherapy
  • Music therapy

Pain management

Some women prefer a medication-free delivery, while others choose to explore pain management options. At the Hutchinson Health BirthCare Center, what’s important to you is important to us. We’ll help you understand your options and support your preferred birth plan. We offer the following pain management options so you can choose what works best for you throughout labor and delivery:

  • Nitrous oxide
  • Epidural
  • Other pain management medications

Prioritizing skin-to-skin contact

Skin-to-skin contact has been shown to be valuable in a number of important ways, including soothing baby’s pain or stress, helping initiate breastfeeding, helping regulate baby’s body temperature, and enhancing bonding with parents.

Your BirthCare Center team will be careful to ensure you have skin-to-skin contact with your baby within the first hour of birth – even in the event of a C-section. C-section patients recover in their birthing suites, and babies are brought to the suite to be with you.

The No Early Inductions Campaign

No Early Inductions has been a successful campaign championed by the March of Dimes and Hutchinson Health. Our BirthCare Center staff supports waiting the full 40 weeks to allow babies time for full brain development. Unless medical reasons require earlier delivery, your doctor at Hutchinson Health will explain the steps we take to provide the latest in medical care for a healthy mom and baby.

Hugs and Kisses System

Our Hugs and Kisses System is reassuring to moms and heightens the safety of every baby born at Hutchinson Health. Special matching bracelets are placed on both mom and baby at the time of delivery. This advanced security system allows babies to be moved within the BirthCare Center, but protects them from leaving the ward by automatically activating door locks and alerting staff.

The Hugs and Kisses System also ensures mother and baby are always correctly united. It automatically alerts Hutchinson Health staff with an audible signal in the event of an incorrect match between baby and mother.

The first few hours and days after your child’s birth are important for your healing, your baby’s health and your bond as a family. We want to help you feel confident in your new role as a parent. We’ll help you learn to care for yourself and your new baby as you get ready to go home together.

We also offer after-care services to give you continued support as you’re healing and adjusting to life at home with baby. We welcome you to call the BirthCare Center at 320-484-4620 with any questions you may have after returning home.

You also have the option to receive a personal visit from a public health nurse after you’re back home. Hutchinson Health works closely with McLeod County Public Health to refer new moms and babies for home visits. Your care team can answer questions and provide more information if you’re interested.

The BirthCare Center has a nursery for newborns who need a little extra care. We encourage parents to bond with their little ones by staying together in the same room, but the nursery is also available when parents need some time to rest. It’s staffed 24 hours a day by our experienced nurses who provide affectionate care and high-tech monitoring, if needed.

Breastfeeding support

Research shows that breastfeeding has many benefits for both babies and mothers. But breastfeeding can take some getting used to. It’s our goal to make sure you and your baby get a good start on breastfeeding before you leave the BirthCare Center, and that you have continued support as you adjust to life at home.

For breastfeeding support or more information, call 320-484-4620.

Amenities and comforts of home

The BirthCare Center is designed with you and your family’s comfort in mind. We’ve created a warm and nurturing environment for your first moments and days with your little one.

Our labor and delivery suites are private, and unlike many other hospitals, our suites are equipped to allow you to stay in the same room from the moment you check in until you prepare your new baby for the trip home. Our birthing suites cater to your comfort and are filled with little touches and modern amenities to make you feel at home.

Some of our amenities include:

  • Private birthing suites, including a bathroom with tub and shower
  • Luxurious therapeutic hot tubs
  • Guest accommodations, including sofa sleepers for partners
  • Room service-style dining
  • Flat-screen TV with cable in every room

Packing for your stay

We recommend packing the following items ahead of time and bringing them with you to the hospital:

  • Comfortable walking shoes
  • Nursing bra and/or nursing shirts
  • Loose-fitting clothes for mom
  • Toiletries
  • Receiving blankets
  • An outfit for baby to wear home (something with legs because gowns don’t work well with car seats)
  • Two to three diapers
  • Car seat

Events and classes

Hutchinson Health offers educational opportunities online for expectant parents, including childbirth and breastfeeding classes.