Maternity Center
Maternity Care at Witham
Pregnancy brings emotions ranging from joy and excitement to concern. It’s natural to have expectations about childbirth and the days and weeks following.
At Witham Health Services, we treat pregnancy not only as a medical condition but also as a life experience. Our obstetricians and nurses will work with you to understand any expectations you may have about the process. And they will do their best to execute your plan based on your wishes and the health of you and your baby.
Why Witham for Maternity Care?
As you prepare for your baby’s arrival, we know that you have a lot of decisions to make, which can feel overwhelming. At Witham — the only hospital in the counties surrounding Boone County that offers maternity care — we make the decisions about childbirth easier for you. We offer:
- Personalized care: As a smaller center, we pride ourselves in our ability to treat you as a person and not a patient identification number. Each of our nurses strive to become personally acquainted with you and your unique desires during delivery and recovery.
- Team approach: We partner with Witham anesthesiologists for pain management during labor and delivery and with pediatrics for the care of your newborn baby. Our team participates in monthly meetings with our anesthesiologists, as well as pediatrics on a bimonthly basis, to discuss upcoming deliveries.
- Established team: If you’ve had a baby in our center before, you will recognize a familiar, experienced team when you return for your upcoming birthing experience. While you’re doing something new and exciting, at Witham, you can take comfort in the familiar.
- Informative classes: We offer classes to help you navigate childbirth and breastfeeding. We also offer an infant CPR class to empower you to provide initial care for your baby in the event of an emergency.
- Easy referrals: We partner on your care with doctors outside of Witham, including maternal-fetal medicine specialists and neonatologists. We make the referral process effortless by coordinating it for you and providing all of the information the specialist needs.
Maternity Care Options
At Witham, we strive to give you options, and we guide you in choosing the right ones for you and your baby. We offer maternity care that balances the health of both you and your baby with your wishes.
If our obstetricians determine you need high-risk maternity care, we will connect you with the support you and your baby need. Our obstetricians work with maternal-fetal medicine specialists — which are high-risk, or complicated, pregnancy doctors — and hospitals that provide high-risk pregnancy care.
Childbirth care
We make the birthing process as satisfying as possible for you. We offer both natural comfort techniques and medications to ease the pain.
Natural comfort measures include:
- Lamaze relaxation, breathing, touch and massage techniques
- Hydrotherapy, which involves use of a warm shower or Jacuzzi tub
- Movement out of the labor bed while continuing to monitor the baby
- Birthing balls that you could use while sitting up and swaying or rocking
Medications include:
- Analgesics, or pain medications
- Regional anesthetic, including local, epidural, pudendal block and spinal block
- General anesthesia, which puts you to “sleep” and is used in emergency situations
- Newborn care, such as changing diapers, bathing your baby and identifying symptoms of illness and when to call your pediatrician
- Nutrition, including breastfeeding and safe formula preparation
- Safe sleep, which includes Alone, on their Back and in a Crib (ABC)
- Soothing and calming techniques, such as swaddling and use of a swaddle sack to avoid overheating and keeping your baby feeling secure
- Car seat safety, such as how to safely use car seats
- Home safety by avoiding tobacco smoke and recognizing newborn illness
- Postpartum depression screening and treatment through Witham Creekside OBGYN
- Breastfeeding support from our team of certified lactation consultants who partner with you to help you exclusively breastfeed
- Education on physical changes you may experience and self-care following birth
Classes
At Witham, we believe that information leads to empowerment and that empowerment leads to healthier lives. We offer a free class that gives you the information you need to help you and your baby stay healthy and safe during labor and delivery and beyond.
- Birthdays and Beyond: Sessions are held quarterly and are FREE. Learn about different topics including your childbirth experience, breastfeeding, and newborn care. These classes are held quarterly on the 1st Saturday of each month in February, May, August, November.
Witham also offers support and additional classes in the topics listed below.
- Breastfeeding Support: Learn the advantages of breastfeeding, how to properly position your baby so they latch and how to pump and store your breastmilk.
- Infant CPR classes: As an expecting mom, you hope you will never have to use CPR on your baby. But in the event of an emergency, you want to be prepared, so we will teach you how to restore your baby’s breathing or heartbeat. This is taught as part of our Birth Days and Beyond Class.
- Paternity affidavit (PA): If your partner’s last name is different from yours and you want your baby to take their last name, you need to complete a paternity affidavit. You and your partner must bring your current photo identification cards to the hospital to complete the PA. As a courtesy, we will submit the information you provide to the state of Indiana and file the affidavit for you.
- Pediatric care: After your baby is born, they are going to require their own special care and doctor. Now is the time to start thinking about establishing a clinical relationship with a pediatrician. Witham Pediatrics offers outstanding care for children of all ages, from birth through adolescence.