Welcoming Babies at the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center

The busiest baby month of the year is almost upon us. Each year, more babies are born during July than any other month. The Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center at Newport Hospital celebrates this time for new mothers and their babies.

Newport Hospital is one of 54 hospitals in the U.S. to receive the prestigious “Baby Friendly” designation from the World Health Organization and UNICEF. This award recognizes the hospital for providing an ideal environment for the promotion, protection and support of breastfeeding as well as all hospital practices meeting rigorous “Baby Friendly” standards.

The Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center has a family-centered program and a very modern approach to the birthing process, which is good news for moms-to-be and the rest of the family.

The birthing center has private suites that enable mothers to stay in the same place for labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum care. The suites have a bassinet for the newborn, a sleep sofa for the birthing partner to stay overnight, and tables and chairs to allow the family to eat together.

Denise Dorato, RNC, director of the maternal child health program at Newport Hospital, believes strongly that family centered nursing is what helps make the birthing center unique. “We incorporate the family in the delivery of the baby and encourage the whole family to be involved.”

The birthing center suites have showers, whirlpool tubs, refrigerators, televisions, rocking chairs and soft lighting. Many new mothers want to spend as much time as possible with their newborn and the birthing center encourages that. “We encourage keeping babies with their mothers as much as possible so they can bond, learn their cues and learn about their baby,” Dorato says.

If the new mother needs extra rest, the nursery is available as well.

Both mother and baby benefit from the center’s state of the art medical technology :

• A computerized monitoring system allows staff to observe the mother’s progress and baby's health during labor, from the bedside as well as from the nursing station.
• A fully equipped operating/delivery room is located on the same floor in case an unexpected complication develops.
• The center’s nursery is able to care for babies who have special needs at birth.
• For the mother’s peace of mind and  the protection of the baby, the birthing center is closely monitored at all times by an advanced security system.

Newport Hospital provides a caring staff of board-certified obstetricians, pediatricians, family practitioners and anesthesiologists as well as a certified nurse-midwife and registered nurses who have received national certification in obstetrical nursing. Mothers may choose their own obstetrician or certified nurse-midwife to oversee every aspect of their care. The same nurse will care for both mother and child. The birthing center’s nurses are educated in all aspects of maternity and newborn care and are assisted by licensed practical nurses, nursing aides and student nurses. The center’s obstetrical nurses consistently score among the highest in the country in family-centered maternity care. In fact, many of the nurses in the birthing center have been there for more than 15 years.

The Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center also offers programs to help mothers prepare for childbirth and to educate them about the care of the newborn.

For more information on the Noreen Stonor Drexel Birthing Center, please don’t hesitate to call 401-845-1133 or visit our website.

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