L is for Labor Room

What can you expect when you get to the hospital?

When you first arrive you likely won’t go straight back to the labor room.  You may have to sit in the waiting room for a bit, get taken to a triage room, or get taken right to the labor room—it all depends on where you are in labor.  If you are showing no signs of labor and they are busy you may be asked to wait in the waiting room (like I was!).  If you are visibly in labor but appear to have time, they will usually take you to a triage room first.  If you have a history of a fast labor or you are talking about the urge to push, you will likely be taken straight back to a labor room.

These days most hospitals have a Labor and Delivery (L&D) room.  In the past some hospitals had a room you labored in, and then when it was time to push you were moved to the delivery room.  These days some hospitals even have Labor, Delivery, & Recovery (LDR) rooms.  These rooms are great, as you don’t have to move to a new room shortly after delivery.  These rooms are not the norm though; most often you will find hospitals have Labor and Delivery rooms and Recovery rooms.  In this case you will be in your labor and delivery room until about 2 hours after your baby is born, given there are no complications, before being moved to the recovery room.   In most hospitals the delivery ward and recovery ward are on the same floor, but in some hospitals they are on separate floors.  Either way you will be moved in a wheel chair or bed—so don’t worry about having to walk!

The biggest difference between the L&D room and the recovery room is size.  The labor room is bigger to allow more hospital staff in during delivery, and because there is more equipment needed during delivery which takes up more space.  This is nice though because it will give you more space if you want to move around.  The labor room has a bigger bathroom usually.  You will also have just a simple bassinet for your baby in place of the warmer station that was in the L&D room.

Here are a few things you can expect to see in your labor room.   There will be two focal items in this room, the delivery bed and the baby warmer station.  There will also be a sofa or chair for your partner or support person that can turn into a bed, or recline to allow for them to sleep if you are there for an extended amount of time.  The next thing to catch your eye will likely be the fetal monitor; this is where your contractions and baby’s heart rate will be monitored and tracked.  You may also see an IV pole, which you may or may not be hooked up to depending on your birth plan and medical need. 

There will also be several cabinets lining the walls; these are where all the birth supplies and medical equipment is stashed.  There will be forceps, amniotic hooks, a vacuum extractor, a speculum, oxygen, resuscitation equipment, suction devices, and practically any medical tool that could be needed in an emergency.  There will also be cabinets full of chux pads, gloves, wipes, wash clothes, and a multitude of of other helpful supplies.  There will be several switches on the walls that adjust the many lights in the room, allowing you to make the brightness a level you are comfortable with, and enabling the staff to make it extremely bright if needed. 

And finally the bathroom, this likely won’t be very fancy unless your hospital is more like a birth center environment.  But you will have a sink, toilet, and shower.  There will be many grab bars on the walls so you always feel supported, as well as a chair or fold down bench for sitting on in the shower.  If that doesn’t look comfortable consider bringing your birth ball in the shower and having your partner use the bench.  There will also be an emergency pull cord if something happens and you need assistance right away.

The bed in the L&D room is actually pretty cool, even if it isn’t the most comfortable.  These beds can be adjusted in a multitude of ways and the end of the bed actually comes completely off if you are on your back in bed when it is time to deliver, which also exposes the stirrups if you will be using them.  The end of the bed can also just be lowered to allow you to labor, and possibly deliver, more easily in the hands and knees position in bed.  Most hospitals have a “squat bar” that can be attached as well.  The bed can also be raised and lowered to nearly any height or position even turning the bed almost into a “throne”. 

If you are at home, this obviously doesn’t apply to you!  If you are at a birth center you will almost always be in the same room for your entire labor, delivery, and short recovery period.  This room will typically have more space than a hospital, and look homier.  It will likely include a “real” bed and many include a birthing tub.  Typically the furniture in these rooms is much more comfortable than the furniture in the hospital rooms.

As you can tell by the photos above, some hospital’s rooms have a very “hospital” feel, while others have tried to feel “homier” as they realize the effect your comfort plays in your hormone releases and delivery. If you are curious about what exactly your hospital or birth center’s rooms are like I highly suggest you take a tour.  Knowing what to expect can relieve anxieties you didn’t even know you had. 

What was your hospital like?  Did you have a LDR room or just an L&D room? 

Next I will be blogging on the letter M… M is for Movement.