Touring the Delivery Room: What to ExpectIf a woman decides to have her baby in the hospital, she may begin to wonder what the delivery room actually looks like. Being in an unfamiliar setting can add to the anxiety and stresses of a woman in labor and in pain, so it is valuable that she knows a little about the environment that she is going to have her baby in, including the room her newborn is first going to see. If her pregnancy is normal and free from complications, a woman may go to the hospital only when her true contractions begin. This means they are continuous and progressive in severity and length. The hospital staff firsts assesses the woman to determine whether she really is in labor, and may have to hook her up to a fetal monitor to determine the baby’s status in the womb. When labor is confirmed, she gets wheeled into the LDR room. LDR stands of labor, delivery and recovery. The LDR room is where a woman will go through labor, have her baby, and rest until her vitals stabilize, unless she has to have an emergency C-section, in which case she will be brought and prepped in the operation room. The beds in the labor room are different from standard hospital beds. The head of bed as well as the lower half is adjustable, and the beds have back support features, as well as side rails to help the woman get out or climb in. This may vary slightly if a woman decides to have a non-conventional labor, such as when she wants to have a water birth. She may be in a tub of warm water during labor. The labor room is also equipped with a fetal monitor and Doppler for continuous monitoring. The delivery room is usually just one door away and in some other hospitals it is the same as the labor room. If it’s the same room, everything (delivery cart consisting of sterile water bowls, instruments, drapes, towels, syringes and suctioning devices for the newborn) is wheeled in. The lower part of the bed is detached and the mother’s legs are put up on stirrups. In some settings, the mother’s legs are left on the bed, flexed. Again, this is reliant upon the position she decides to have her baby in. Once the baby is born, she or she is swaddled; his or her nose suctioned for secretions, and then the baby is brought to the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) to receive necessary care. The mother is wheeled into a recovery room where she is allowed to rest and where she is monitored continuously while her vitals stabilize. Read more of our articles on labor and delivery
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