After your recovery period in the Birth Center, you will be taken by stretcher or wheelchair to the Mother-Baby Unit for the rest of your recovery. Your doctors and nurses will make a plan with you and your partner. The nursing staff will teach you about baby care, self post-partum care, and breast or bottle-feeding, and they can answer any questions you have.
Rooming In
We want you to have as much contact with your baby as possible which is why we room mother and baby together in the same room, called “rooming-in”. Rooming-in has many physical and emotional benefits for mother and baby. You will grow more comfortable with your baby’s needs by the time you go home together and will be more confident in your ability to care for your baby. Some babies need special monitoring or procedures that require him or her to stay in the newborn nursery under the continuous care of a nurse. We always have a nursery nurse available for these situations. We can also watch your baby in the newborn nursery if you or your partner is unavailable.
Newborn Nursery
Maine Medical Center’s Family Birth Center has a newborn nursery staffed by a newborn care nurse who can be used while mothers are sleeping, showering, or at any other time you need someone to watch your baby. Many newborn tests and procedures such as circumcision, newborn hearing screening, and metabolic screening take place in the newborn nursery. You and the person you choose to wear the newborn identification ID band are allowed in the newborn nursery at anytime. Other visitors must be accompanied by you or your partner.
Couplet Care
We practice “couplet care” in the Family Birth Center unless your baby needs the care of a specialized nurse such as in the Newborn Nursery, NICU, or CCN. This means that the same nurse that is assigned to care for you, also cares for your baby. This is important because it allows the nurse to strengthen the bond between mother and infant. Studies have shown that couplet care also increases maternal satisfaction with care as well as staff satisfaction.
Other services available during your stay:
- Nutrition Support
- Manipulative Therapy
- Massage Therapy
- Pastoral Care
- Physical Therapy
- Social Work
View a virtual tour of a room
Note: You may need to download a small file from Microsoft