Welcome to Sharp Mary Birch Hospital for Women & Newborns.
I'm Dianne Randall, and I'll be taking you on a tour today.
I'm excited to share information about our hospital
and what you can expect when you choose to deliver here.
Sharp Mary Birch is San Diego's only hospital dedicated
exclusively to women and newborns, and we're
recognized for patient-centered care and advanced high-
risk pregnancy treatment.
Plus, our Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is the
largest of its kind in San Diego, and it's recognized
among the best NICUs in the world.
Our first stop is our concierge desk.
If you arrive at the hospital in labor,
our concierge staff will help you check in and get to
the Triage Department.
If you arrive for a scheduled cesarean delivery,
our concierge staff will inform the Admitting Department and
they will escort you to our Surgical Admissions Area on
the third floor.
If you go to Triage, our nurses will check you in and determine
how far your labor has progressed.
And our care team will monitor your labor.
Your stay in Triage can last from 30 minutes to a
few hours.
You'll then be admitted to our third floor Labor and
Delivery Department, which features 22 large private
rooms for labor, delivery and recovery.
Our labor and delivery nurses are specially trained in
natural childbirth and work with each patient to support
personal birthing preferences.
Natural birthing aids like peanut balls, birth balls and
showers are in each room.
We also offer anesthesia services 24 hours a day for
laboring patients who request pain relief.
After delivery, you and your support person will stay in the
delivery room to recover with your baby for a few hours
before moving to the Maternal Infant Services floor.
During this time, you can practice skin-to-skin contact
with your baby and start breastfeeding.
Your baby's weight and vital signs will also be recorded.
At Sharp Mary Birch, we're always prepared
for the unexpected.
For cesarean births, our Delivery floor has state-of-
the-art operating rooms, where a full surgical team is
always available for planned and unplanned C-sections.
After a cesarean delivery, moms and babies go to our
Recovery Area to be cared for and monitored by
our nursing team.
A nurse will check vital signs often and give pain
medication as needed.
In the Recovery Area, moms are able to breastfeed and practice
skin-to-skin contact.
Each new mom's support person is welcome to stay here
as well.
We also offer a special nursery inside the Recovery Area,
where nurses can care for babies while their moms
are close by.
Stays in the Recovery Area typically last a few hours.
New moms then go to our Maternal Infant
Services floor, which features 72 rooms, each equipped with a
pull-out sofa for your support person to stay the night.
Here, you'll recover from delivery with the help of our
specially trained nurses, who will monitor your and your
baby's health throughout your stay.
Lactation consultants are available to help you
breastfeed your baby, and a family home care class is
offered to parents before they leave the hospital.
Our Maternal Infant Services floor also has an
intermediate observation nursery.
This special nursery is for babies who may be experiencing
minor complications and need closer monitoring by
our nurses.
The nursery is also available for new moms who might need a
few hours of uninterrupted sleep while a nurse takes care
of her baby.
For our tiniest patients needing extra care,
our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is located on the first
floor near the lobby.
Our 84-bed Level III NICU provides around-the-clock
visitation for parents, and boasts an expert health
team to help babies get the best possible start in life.
This includes neonatologists, neonatal and advanced life
support nurses, respiratory therapists,
nutritionists, lactation consultants,
and social workers.
Free support groups and classes are available to parents of
NICU babies to help them during this often difficult time.
Also located in our lobby is our New Beginnings Boutique and
Gift Shop, staffed seven days a week by certified lactation
educators who can provide breastfeeding guidance by phone
or in person.
The boutique also offers a large selection of
nursing bras, breast pumps for sale or for rent,
breastfeeding accessories and more.
Thank you for touring Sharp Mary Birch Hospital,
where caring for women and newborns is everything we do
and the only thing.
We look forward to meeting you and your baby.