Patient Care
"New Beginnings" Birth Center
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Personal, Professional and on beautiful Lake Tomah … the New Beginnings Birth Center is your home away from home for the birth of your baby.
Comfortable rooms for labor and delivery without having to move from room to room are available for our new moms. One room is set up to be your room throughout your entire hospital stay.
Your support person is welcome to stay with you if you so desire. You may have your infant room-in with you or visit the nursery. The choice is yours.
The staff of the New Beginnings Birth Center considers you as a person when you stay with us and take personal interest in your care. For those who desire it, the staff supports breastfeeding and encourages your questions. It is the goal to have our mothers leave with the skills they need for care for their infants. Education through video or demonstration provides additional support.
Labor is an individual experience, and we want yours to be special. Some mothers want the experience to be as natural as possible while others prefer a more structured approach using the latest technology. Fetal monitoring, epidurals and Cesarean births are available as needed.
The staff is trained in Neonatal Resuscitation and Advanced Cardiac Life Support as well as the latest obstetric techniques. Our physicians, midwives and nursing staff have a primary concern for the needs of you and your newborn.
Tomah Memorial Hospital has a team of dedicated instructors to teach all aspects of childbirth and infant care. Our Prepared Childbirth Class is available in an evening format or all day Saturday. For the experienced attendee, we offer a Refresher Prepared Childbirth Class. The siblings can get involved by attending Big Brother/Big Sister To Be Class. In preparation for feeding, we offer a Breastfeeding Class. Our free Infant and Child CPR classes are very popular, and our Infant Massage Classes teach one of the most positive ways to provide interaction between parent and child
View our Childbirth Education Pamphlets
Contact us at The New Beginnings Birth Center for a tour of our department by calling (608) 372-2181 or (608) 374-0220.
Making a difference for our mothers-to-be
Waterbirthing is a new option at the New Beginnings Birth Center
There's a new choice for new moms at the New Beginnings Birth Center. Birthing your baby under water hit the waves in January.
Birthing your baby under water (or "waterbirth") in a specially designed tub has made it possible to provide relaxation for women during their labor. Tomah Memorial Hospital is the first to use the Aqua-Eze tub in the state of Wisconsin.
Waterbirths have been gaining popularity in the United States especially in the last three years. They have been very Popular in European countries as well as Russia. There have been approximately 25,000 babies born into water between 1984 and 1995.
Click here to view a brief, 45-second movie on the Hydrotheraphy/Waterbirth option.
For the Mom
Birthing in water is not for everyone. All women are screened prior to consideration of waterbirth. The pregnancy must be considered normal, and both the mom and the infant must be considered to be in good health. The waterbirthing option is useful in intervention utilized to promote relaxation and pain management, thus decreasing the need for medical interventions. Warm water promotes relaxation. The mom uses the birthing tub for labor or delivery and has less sensory stimulation. Her body is less likely to secrete the stress hormones and more likely to produce pain inhibitors. Stress hormones raise blood pressure and slow labor. The pain inhibitors help her to labor more effectively.
The level of comfort in water reduces the level of fear and stress. Women usually feel they are better able to concentrate once they get into the water. The sound of the water in the tub helps some women release inhibitions that slow birth. Often, women deliver more quickly once in the water. Water often reduces the incidence and severity of tearing and the need for episiotomies. Women have also increased mobility in the water and can change positions easily to be more comfortable.
For the Baby
The baby is allowed the freedom of movement in familiar fluid surroundings as he or she is birthed. The baby's limbs unfold with greater ease during the first moments when leaving their mother's body and upon entering the water. The water allows the baby time to become accustomed to being born.
Lights, sound and touch are gentler under water, and the environment is warm and soothing to the baby. The baby emerges into the water and is either retrieved by the mother, father, or the birth attendant. The baby is then brought to the surface and snuggled on the mother's chest. They are then both wrapped in warm towels and blankets.
The mom's reactions
Women who experienced a waterbirth were amazed at how good it felt, even during the contractions, to be in warm water. Some women had already birthed a baby before using traditional birthing options, and they felt there was no comparison between the two methods.
How to determine if waterbirthing is an option for you
Families who are interested in birthing their babies in water need to discuss the option with their healthcare provider. Birthing in water is not for everyone. Some women and babies have medical issues that would not allow waterbirth as a safe option. All families are offered a tour of the New Beginnings Birth Center prior to labor and delivery with their teaching visit, and they are invited to inquire about the tub and the waterbirthing option.
For more information, feel free to call our New Beginnings Birth Center at 608-374-0220.
