I have created this guide to explain the hospital units you may encounter when you go to have your baby, to help you understand the differences between them. You will learn about Triage, Labor & Delivery, Postpartum, NICU and Newborn Nursery. I also have these in video form on my instagram @daniellethemamacoach.
What is Triage?
Unless you have a scheduled procedure when you come to *most* hospitals you will be directed to triage (some smaller hospitals don’t have a separate triage unit and will triage you in a regular room).
Triage is essentially the ER for pregnancy, sometimes patients will be sent over from the office if there is something your Dr/Midwife wants to look at more closely (some examples could be monitoring your BP, babies HR, bleeding or if they wanted to run some specific tests or lab work but it could be for a multitude of reasons)
Once thing I do want to note is that at some hospitals if you are less than 20 weeks pregnant they will direct you to the ER for evaluation
If you think you are in labor this is where you would come and we would determine if it is time for you to be admitted. This is also where you come if you are having any complications such as significant pain, signs of preeclampsia, not feeling your baby move etc.
In general the triage process includes having you change into a gown, checking the baby’s HR, your vital signs and getting information on why you came in, your medical history and your pregnancy. From there we will discuss with the MD/Midwife on the appropriate next steps. Expect to be hanging out with us for a few hours.
I know it can be annoying, but everytime you come in, we will have to ask you the same questions. This is to ensure that we are getting the correct and the most recent information on your pregnancy. Even though we have the last time saved in the computer we still need to confirm that everything was entered accurately every time.
Another note if you feel like you need to go to the bathroom when you arrive let your nurse know so we can give you a cup for a sample in case we need it later then we can just label and send it to the lab, instead of waiting for you to need to go again.
After you have been fully evaluated you will typically go to:
Labor and Delivery if you are admitted to have your baby
Antepartum if you need to stay at the hospital for further evaluation but we are not anticipating that you be delivering soon
Regular emergency room if we determine that you need medical care thats not related to pregnancy
Discharged home if it is safe to do so
Lastly I know no one enjoys sitting in the waiting room and you may see others called back before you even if you arrived first, this is because we need to assess those at highest risk for emergencies/complications first, but we will get to you as soon as we possibly can
What is Antepartum?
Antepartum or High Risk unit is where our patients stay when they need to be monitored closely. Patients’ stay here can range from days to months depending on what we have going on.
There is a wide range of reasons you might be admitted here from preeclampsia to preterm labor.
Labor and Delivery Unit
This one may seem a little obvious, but this is where you are going to have your baby! If you are admitted for labor or have a scheduled induction this is where you’ll be. If you are having an induction know that it may be 24-48 hours before your baby’s arrival which is totally normal. If you choose to get an epidural it will happen here, as well as the entire delivery process (unless a c/s becomes necessary). You will then stay for an additional about 2 hours so we can monitor several aspects of you and baby and help you with feeding etc.
There is so much to know about what to expect during your time in L&D which is why I think a prenatal class is essential to take. My prenatal class is about 3-4 hours long because I want you to be as prepared as possible: from knowing when to go to the hospital to bringing your baby home and transitioning into those first few weeks of motherhood.
What happens on the Postpartum unit?
After you have delivered your baby and are in stable condition, you will be transferred to the postpartum units (sometimes called mother-baby unit). If you have had a vaginal delivery you will usually stay for at least 24 hours and if you’ve had a c/s they typically keep you for at least 48 hours. Here you will get mountains of education, fill out birth certificate paperwork, and receive assistance establishing your feeding routine and ensuring that you are healing as expected. Unless your baby needs to stay in the NICU or Nursery, most hospitals do what we call “rooming in” where baby stays with you at all times. Once both you and baby are cleared, you will be given your discharge information and finally get to head home with your bundle of joy.
If you weren’t able to take a prenatal class and are feeling unprepared for the postpartum period or those first months at home consider looking into Postpartum Support on my website. If you are in the Long Beach or LA area I do home visits to be an extra set of hands and guide you through baths, fingernail trims, cord care, and answer any questions that you may have. And if you’re not local I offer this virtually as well!
What is the NICU? What about Newborn/Well-baby Nursery?
The NICU is or Neonatal ICU is where babies go if they need more specialized care. In some cases you have known ahead of time that your baby may need to stay in the NICU, and sometimes it’s an unfortunate surprise as some infants don’t transition as well to the outside world and need extra support. Most premature infants will need to be monitored in the NICU even if they are stable at birth. After evaluating the baby and if medically able the NICU team usually brings baby over for you to see before they transfer. If you have a partner with you, typically they are able to accompany the baby with the NICU team so they can see how to get there and learn about the visitation policies (which vary by hospital).
Many hospitals are phasing out the newborn nursery in favor of “rooming in” which is keeping baby in the same room as you the whole stay, but some hospitals still have a newborn or sometimes called well-baby nursery that the baby can go to if you want some rest or are under circumstances that you aren’t able to attend to baby.
