Birth Center Tours
Preparing for Your Labor and Delivery
As you near your delivery date, it’s a good idea to pack essential items you’ll want to have on hand during your hospital stay. The following checklist will help you prepare. You may want to pack:
- Hospital registration card, if you have one
- Copy of Durable Power of Attorney or Living Will, if you have one
- Lip balm or Vaseline (your lips may get dry in labor)
- Your own pillow, with a colored or print pillowcase to keep it separate from hospital pillows
- Non-skid slippers and socks
- Camera
- Music and a player
- Laptop (Wi-Fi is available)
- Robe
- Nightgowns (Hospital gowns are also available)
- Toiletries including shampoo, deodorant, comb and brush, toothbrush and toothpaste
- Underwear and well-fitting bras
- Going-home clothes for you and your baby. Remember, loose-fitting clothes will be the most comfortable. Many women wear their maternity clothes home from the hospital.
- Cell phone and charger, or a phone card for long-distance calls. Room phones are available, but you will not be able to place outgoing long-distance calls. Incoming long-distance calls are accepted. Note that calls are not put through to patient rooms after 10 p.m. to allow for rest.
- Name and address of your baby’s doctor
- Infant car seat. Practicing installation and use ahead of time is highly recommended. Assistance is available through Mott Buckle Up Program at (734) 763-2251.
When to Come to the Hospital
During one of your prenatal visits, discuss with your health care provider when to come to the hospital. When you are ready to come to the hospital, or if you need help deciding, contact the following:
- If you see a Family Medicine doctor, call your doctor directly (any time of the day) with the phone number they have given you (usually the doctor’s office number). Call Triage (734-764-8134) if you are unable to reach your doctor.
- If you see a Certified Nurse-Midwife or an OBGYN, call Triage (734-764-8134).
Parking for the Birth Center
Please use Parking Structure P4 or valet parking at the front entrance of C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital.
- If using Parking Structure P4:
- You can enter off East Hospital Drive, across the street from the main entrance to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital. See Parking Structure P4 on the U-M Medical Center Map.
- It is staffed 24 hours a day throughout the week by parking attendants.
- You and your visitors can get your parking ticket validated at the Birth Center welcome desk to receive a reduced rate of $2 per day.
- If using valet parking:
- Our valet parking services are available for a fee at the main entrance to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital.
- It is staffed Monday – Friday, 5:30 a.m. – 9 p.m., and on weekends and holidays, 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Urgent access:
- Patients in labor or pregnant patients with urgent need for quick access to the Women’s Hospital should pull into the main children’s and women’s hospital entrance on East Hospital Drive. This entrance is staffed by UMHS Security Guest Service Specialists 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist you.
Admission to Labor and Delivery
Patients in labor or pregnant patients with urgent need to quick access to the hospital should pull into the main entrance to C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital on East Hospital Drive. This entrance is staffed by Michigan Medicine security and guest service specialists 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist you.
Going Home from the Hospital
Planning will help you make a more comfortable transition from hospital to home after your baby’s birth. Arranging for someone to be with you at home, especially during the first two weeks after delivery, will help you adjust to new motherhood. At this time, your primary job is to rest, recover, and get to know your baby. The amount of time you will spend in the Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital after delivery is based on your physical and educational needs. Your physical recovery and your baby’s adjustment after birth will be checked carefully.
- For vaginal deliveries without complications, patients usually go home about 24 hours after delivery, with some variation depending on the time of day. If you deliver before 8 p.m., you will generally stay in the hospital one full night and most of the next day. If your baby is born after 8 p.m., you will likely stay in the hospital for two full nights and go home the following morning.
- For Cesarean births without complications, patients are normally ready to go home approximately 48 hours after delivery. If you deliver before 8 p.m., expect to spend two full nights and two full days in the hospital. If you deliver after 8 p.m., you most likely will stay a third night and go home the following morning.
Before you leave the hospital, you will want to call the health care providers for both you and your baby to make appointments for your six-week postpartum visit and your baby’s first doctor visit. A copy of your baby’s physical exam will be sent to your baby’s physician. Your nurse will help you get the information and skills you need to make a safe transition from hospital to home care. If you have been discharged from the hospital within the time frames listed above, your care may continue at home through the Michigan Visiting Nurses Home Care Program for New Mothers and Babies.
Michigan Visiting Nurses Home Care Program for New Mothers and Babies
After being discharged from the hospital, many new mothers and babies are seen at home by a visiting nurse. The nurse usually will contact new mothers by phone within 24 hours of hospital discharge and will answer questions and schedule an appointment for a home visit. Home visits usually occur the third day after a vaginal delivery, and the fourth or fifth day after a Cesarean birth, based upon the health care provider’s orders. During your home visit, the nurse can perform the following services:
- Check the health status of mother and baby
- Teach mother and other family members about new-baby care (feeding, sleeping, normal development, signs of illness, etc.)
- Answer any questions regarding care
- Provide information about when to contact the health care provider
- Remove staples from the incision for mothers who have had a Cesarean section
If a new mother or family member has questions or concerns before the nurse’s scheduled visit, contact Michigan Visiting Nurses by calling 734-677-0020 or 800-880-0020. When you call:
- If it’s between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday – Friday, identify the patient as a new mother and/or baby expecting a home visit and ask to speak with a nurse.
- If it’s after hours or on a weekend, identify the patient as a new mother and/or baby expecting a home visit and ask to have the Visiting Care on-call nurse paged. Leave your name and phone number and the on-call nurse will call you back.
Michigan Visiting Nurses is pleased to provide home health services to new mothers and babies. If you have questions about the Home Care Program for New Mothers and Babies, please call 734-677-0020.