Labor & Delivery

Sometimes labor doesn't progress as well as your care team may have hoped. In that case, your health care provider may suggest medication or other measures for induction (getting your labor started) or augmentation (helping labor move along at a better pace).

If you’ll be having a cesarean delivery, we perform it in a way that centers you and your family.

Simple measures can foster a calm environment and early family bonding while in the operating room and recovery room:

• If you wish to see your baby during birth, our team can use clear drapes.
• We invite you to bring your own music to play during the birth.
• We try to limit unnecessary conversation.
• You can have one person with you in the operating room.

We encourage skin-to-skin contact with your baby as soon as possible after birth. Early skin-to-skin contact helps with your baby’s temperature regulation and microbiome formation which protects against germs. We delay cord clamping to help ease the baby's transition and encourage breastfeeding as soon as possible.

At Beverly Hospital, we're happy to share in your special day. Here are some things to do to get ready for your childbirth experience with us.

What To Do in Advance

• Decide on the support person (partner, parent, sibling or friend) who will be with you in the Labor and Delivery room.
• Beverly Hospital won't give information about your condition to anyone. We recommend identifying one person for your friends and family members to call for updates about your labor and childbirth status. This way, there's only one person checking in with you and/or your support person during your labor.
• Research a car seat for your newborn and correctly install it in your vehicle before going into labor.
• Choose your baby's doctor prior to deliver.
• Complete and return the maternity forms inside the information packet that you receive from Beverly Hospital.

Insurance Information

In most cases, you need to inform your insurance company of your pregnancy so they can pre-approve your hospital stay. Not doing this may result in the insurance company denying coverage for the cost of your care.

Under normal circumstances, most insurance providers allow for a 48-hour (two-day) stay for a vaginal birth and a 96-hour (four-day) stay after a cesarean birth. If you have any questions, please contact your individual insurance carrier. You should also check with your insurance carrier to determine coverage for childbirth classes, breast pumps and other expenses related to your baby's birth.

If you don’t have insurance and feel that you may experience financial difficulties, please contact our Business Office before the birth of your baby at 978-816-2207.

For the Expectant Mom

• Insurance card
• Photo ID
• Completed "Worksheet for Certificate of Live Birth – Newborn" that you receive from Beverly Hospital
• Cell phone and charger
• Music to listen to during labor and birth, if desired
• Personal care items, including a toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo and a comb/brush
• A nightgown, robe and slippers

For the Partner/Support Person

• Photo ID
• Personal care items, including a toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo and a comb/brush
• Comfortable sleeping clothes
• Money for vending machines
• Cell phone and charger

When the day comes for your baby to be born, here's what you need to know about arriving to Beverly Hospital. Our staff will guide you from the minute you walk in the door to the time you leave with your little bundle of joy.

Admission to the Hospital

After your health care provider instructs you to go to the hospital, please come through the main hospital entrance.

• If it's between 6 am and 8 pm, come directly to Labor and Delivery on the third floor of the Alt Building.
• If it's between 8 pm and 6 am, please check in at the Emergency Department desk.

Be sure to bring your overnight bag, your insurance card and a photo ID. You should also bring the “Worksheet for Certificate of Live Birth – Newborn” form in the information packet you received.

Parking

When you arrive, drive directly to our main entrance. Valet parking is available on weekdays for a nominal fee or you can leave your car in our free parking garage.

Accommodations

Beverly Hospital's Maternity Services offers a home-like atmosphere. You will begin in Labor and Delivery, located on the third floor of the Alt Building. This area is where you'll give birth to your baby in a private room.

After your baby's birth, you'll be moved to our Mother Baby Unit on the fourth floor where, under normal circumstances, you’ll have a private room. We provide sleep chairs for your significant other or support person to spend the night. On occasion, because of the number of new mothers, we may have to use semi-private rooms.

There is often much excitement among family and friends when a baby is born. During this joyous time, remember to take care of yourself and listen to your body's need for rest and recovery. Don't hesitate to let others know when you need to be alone with your baby and when you need to sleep.

Visiting Hours

General visiting hours are from 11 am to 8 pm each day. For your comfort and healing, we suggest quiet hours from 8 pm to 11 am. If you desire, you can have visitors come to see you and your baby during the quiet hours.

Visitors should be free of any illnesses, such as colds, flu or contagious diseases. An adult must accompany any visiting children — including siblings. The mother’s support person, partner, significant other, grandparents or siblings of the baby may visit at any time.

Family-Centered Care

Your baby will spend the majority of the time with you in your room. It’s a chance for you to learn your baby's cues and how to take care of their needs. Our family-centered care includes encouraging skin-to-skin contact between you and your baby while awake. Mothers and babies are considered a pair, meaning you'll share a maternity nurse. Our nurses are always available to support you and answer any questions.

Your room is equipped with a sleeper chair, so your significant other can stay overnight in the room with you and your baby.

Breastfeeding Support

In addition to our Prenatal Breastfeeding Class, Beverly Hospital offers additional resources to support breastfeeding mothers. Many of our nurses are certified in lactation, and they can help you with breastfeeding. Our certified lactation consultants also are available on the unit seven days a week for additional education and support.

We also offer a Lactation Boutique that sells breast pumps, bras, pillows, and accessories. A Lactation Boutique cart can be brought to your room to allow you to purchase any supplies you need. All of our products are sold at a discounted rate below the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. Contact your insurance carrier to see if a breast pump or other supplies are covered under your insurance plan.

Our staff can help you select the bra and supplies that fit your lifestyle. The staff at the Lactation Boutique may be reached at 978-816-2202 or 978-927-9103.

Your Baby's Medical Care

At the hospital, your baby's doctor will perform an exam to assess your baby’s overall health. In addition, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health requires that all newborns receive:

• A blood test to determine if the baby has any metabolic disorders that need immediate treatment
• Eye ointment to prevent any infections caused by the birth process
• A Hepatitis B vaccine to prevent a severe liver infection that can lead to liver failure, liver cancer and death
• A newborn hearing screening that is quick, easy and not painful (It's important to recognize hearing loss as early as possible, so your care team can make appropriate interventions)
• A vitamin K injection which helps the baby's blood to clot

Your baby will also be screened for a critical congenital heart defect (CCHD). Some babies born with a heart defect appear healthy at first but are at risk of serious complications within the first few days or weeks of life. This simple and painless test takes just a few minutes and measures how much oxygen is in your baby’s blood. It's done by taping sensors to the baby’s hand and foot that lead to a monitor.

If you have any questions about these tests, speak to your nurse or the baby's doctor.

Safe Sleep Guidelines for Baby

These important practices will begin in the hospital and should continue at home:

• Always place your baby on their back to sleep.
• Don't put toys, blankets, pillows or bumper pads in your baby's crib.
• Don't smoke.
• Keep your baby close by, but in their own crib, with a firm mattress and a tight-fitting sheet.
• Keep your baby cool; don't overheat the room.

Perinatal Mood Complications & Postpartum Depression

Postpartum depression (PPD) sometimes affects women during pregnancy and/or after childbirth. It is different from "the blues" that people may experience from time to time. PPD can cause feelings of extreme anxiety, sadness and exhaustion. It also may cause repetitive or disturbing thoughts. A woman with PPD can have trouble caring for her baby, her family and herself.

Postpartum mood complications and PPD are treatable. If you experience any of these or similar feelings, tell your health care provider or nurse.

Birth Certificates & Social Security Cards

You can get a copy of your child's birth certificate at the Beverly Town Hall after two weeks. Please note that Beverly Hospital does not issue birth certificates and does not have copies.

Your baby's Social Security card will be mailed to your residence in about one month. If you have any questions regarding your baby's Social Security card, you may contact the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213.

Circumcisions

If your baby will be a boy, you may want to think in advance about whether to have him circumcised. Circumcision is an optional procedure in which the foreskin covering the head of the penis is removed.

At Beverly Hospital, the physician who performs the procedure (your obstetrician) will explain it in advance. You’ll have a chance to ask questions. To give permission, you’ll need to sign a consent form at the hospital before your obstetrician performs the procedure.

To prepare for discharge from the hospital, be sure you have weather-appropriate clothing for your newborn (such as a T-shirt, outfit, sweater, coat, hat and/or blanket) as well as for yourself.

You also need an appropriate car seat. It is Massachusetts law that all newborns have a properly fitting car seat to ride in a motor vehicle.

Because choosing a car seat for a newborn depends on the baby's size, some parents wait until the baby is born to purchase the seat. If you buy one ahead of time, we suggest that you keep the car seat box and receipt in case you need to exchange the seat.

Choosing a Car Seat

Beverly Hospital's Child Passenger Safety Program can help ensure you have the correct car seat. Beverly Hospital does not provide car seats, but our staff is here to advise you on your purchase.

All newborns need an appropriate, five-point-harness car seat. If your baby weighs less than five pounds, you’ll need a car seat that accommodates smaller infants.

Beverly Hospital's Child Passenger Safety Program requirements do not allow newborns to be discharged in:

• Seats that are not the right size for the baby
• Seats that are past their expiration date. They will be discarded (usually six years after manufacture)
• Seats that do not have a sticker indicating the device follows federal standards
• Seats that have signs of damage that can affect the crashworthiness of the seat

A certified child passenger safety technician supervises our program. This technician has advanced training, and our staff includes occupational and physical therapists with education in positioning and car seat fitting. To get in touch with one of our safety technicians, please email us.

While You Are in the Hospital

• You have the right by law to stay in the hospital with your baby for 48 hours after giving birth vaginally or 96 hours after birth if you have a cesarean birth.
• The hospital may not send you and your baby home between 8 pm and 8 am, unless you ask to leave during that time.

If You Choose to Leave Early

• You have the right to at least one home visit by a nurse. A home visit is voluntary. If you do not want one, please let your nurse know.
• The Case Management Department will initiate the referral for your home visit within 48 hours after you leave the hospital.

For More Information

• If you have any questions about your rights under this law, talk to your doctor, midwife or nurse, or call the Bureau of Health Care Safety and Quality at 617-753-8000, Monday through Friday, 8:45 am to 5:00 pm.

For Complaints

• If you feel your rights have been denied under this law, you may call the Department of Public Health at 800-436-7757 or TD TTE 800-439-2370, 24 hours a day.