Labor and delivery at Sky Ridge Medical Center

Birth center in South Denver

The Birth Place at Sky Ridge Medical Center welcomes more babies than any other hospital in South Metro Denver. This is, in part, because we offer extensive options for medicated and natural childbirth, all under the direction of our expert childbirth team. This team of OBGYNs, perinatologists, neonatologists and nurses, cares for you and your baby, following your birth plan while keeping both of you safe and healthy.

For more information about Sky Ridge Medical Center's Birth Place, please call our women's coordinator at (720) 225-2423.

Maternity care services at the Birth Place

From prenatal care to postpartum support, we care for you at every step in your pregnancy journey. We are honored to be part of this special time with you.

To support you during pregnancy and childbirth, the Birth Place offers:

• Board-certified OBGYNs, anesthesiologists and certified nurse anesthetists in house 24/7
• Breastfeeding support from certified lactation consultants and a free breastfeeding success group
• Experienced perinatologists and antepartum care for high-risk pregnancies
• Gifts to pamper and celebrate the new family and baby from The Serenity Shoppe (located on campus)
• High-acuity, Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where we care for infants 24 weeks old and older
• Maternity tours and pregnancy and childbirth classes
• Private, spacious recovery rooms with flat-screen TVs, wireless internet and room for your partner to spend the night in our mom-baby unit
• Well-care nursery where we care for your baby when you need to rest
• Wide spectrum of birth plan options, including birth balls, rocking chairs and squat bars
• Laboring moms, please enter through the emergency department entrance. Open 24/7. A nurse from labor and delivery will meet you and escort your to our women’s hospital.

Maternity tours and childbirth classes

We offer tours of our Birth Place to give you and your partner the opportunity to learn more about our facility and services.

We also provide a wide range of childbirth classes to help you prepare for labor and delivery and parenting classes to help you learn to care for your baby.

To sign up for childbirth and parenting classes, please register online or call (720) 225-2229.

Labor and delivery

Located on the second floor of Sky Ridge Medical Center's women's hospital, the labor and delivery unit is warm, welcoming and beautifully designed to meet your needs. We often hear our patients say they forgot they were in a hospital because the surroundings are more like a hotel than a hospital—which is just one reason we were selected as Colorado Parent’s top hospital birthing center.

We make it a priority to care for your entire family. As part of this, your family is allowed to be in attendance throughout your childbirth process, if you desire. A beautifully decorated waiting area with a TV, restroom, play area and vending machine are also located nearby for additional visitors.

Once labor begins, you will stay in the same labor and delivery room for the birth of your baby and through the first hours of the recovery stage. If you deliver by C-section, we will care for you in our childbirth surgical suites, also located in our women's hospital.

Honoring your birth choices

We know every family and parent-to-be is unique, and it is important to us that we honor your very personal choices about your birth experience. Please let us know how we can best accommodate your needs and those of your family before, during and after the delivery of your little one.

To help you create your birth plan, you will find information about low intervention birth and childbirth pain management options below.

Childbirth pain management

We support moms who wish to have a medicated birth experience or a natural birth experience. This means we provide a variety of both medical and non-medical pain relief services.

Medical pain relief options

• Spinal anesthesia is used for scheduled C-sections, and anesthetic and painkillers are injected through the dura (membrane surrounding the spinal cord).
  • Pros: does not transfer to the baby
  • Cons: time limited, meaning the anesthesia wears off within a few hours after it is infected
• Local anesthesia is used for relieving pain during the pushing phase or tear repair. Anesthetic is injected directly into the affected region.
  • Pros: immediate, localized relief
  • Cons: does not help with labor pain
• Epidural provides anesthetic and pain killers around the dura. It is administered via an IV drip to block labor pains.
  • Pros: provides continuous relief, can be patient-controlled for desired level of medicine, does not transfer to the baby
  • Cons: can increase chance of C-section and affect recovery if administered too early
• Nitrous oxide is a colorless gas with a sweet odor that occurs naturally in the atmosphere. In high concentrations, nitrous oxide is a weak anesthetic.
  • Pros: self-administered, so you can decide how much to use and when to stop use; effects disappear within minutes; does not transfer to the baby
  • Cons: requires you to self-administer the gas when you need it

Low Intervention Birth Options and Pain Management

We know you want to make the best choice for you and your growing family. Many of our patients want to limit medical interventions for a more natural childbirth experience. At Sky Ridge, we offer a number of these techniques to ensure a more comfortable, safe and low-intervention birth for you and your baby.

• Seasoned labor & delivery team
• Labor beds to provide maximum comfort and safety
• CUB chairs, an inflatable, versatile support stool similar to a birthing ball
• Wireless monitors so you can freely move about
• Nitrous oxide for pain management
• Spinning baby techniques
• Cool and warm towels for soothing
• Doula friendly and squat bars
• Peanut balls
• Soaking tubs
• Outdoor terrace for relaxation
• Honoring the golden hour when baby arrives

We are Spinning Babies® Enthusiasts

Did you know babies can put themselves in the best positions possible for childbirth?

Spinning Babies® techniques can help you have an easier birth by getting your baby in the best position to fit your pelvis. These strategies are especially important when labor seems long, painful or stalls. Spinning Babies® positions have helped many avoid cesarean surgery, and we know this is very important to you.

These weekly techniques “activate the nature within the body by working with the body in new ways.” During your labor at Sky Ridge, our team works with you on these positions to make labor easier and less painful. We encourage you to check out the Spinning Babies® website.

Doula care

A doula is a non-medical professional who assists expectant mothers emotionally and physically through pregnancy, labor and childbirth. A doula serves as a companion, support person and often a birthing coach to aid laboring mothers.She helps with positioning, getting the birth partner involved, advocating for you and providing encouragement through labor.

Infertility

The journey to starting or expanding your family is unique. If you have experienced fertility challenges or obstacles, we connect you with support and treatment you may need. Sky Ridge works closely with two of the leading fertility clinics in Colorado.

Surrogacy

Some parents choose surrogacy as a way to expand their family. Should this be your childbirth plan, we are here to provide an extraordinary experience for you and your family. We invite you to tour our facility to learn about banding and security, rooming-in for intended parents and insurance/payment.

Vaginal birth after C-section (VBAC) delivery

If you wish to have a vaginal birth after a C-section, and it is medically appropriate, we support you. We will do everything we can to help you achieve your goal with safety being our top priority.

Neonatal intensive care

As a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Sky Ridge is qualified to provide comprehensive care to some of our smallest patients. Our NICU is equipped with appropriate equipment, technology and staff, and we offer access to sub-specialist pediatricians.

Our NICU provides a healing environment for premature and ill babies, born as young as 23 weeks or as tiny as 1,000 grams. We care for your baby in our NICU until they grow strong enough for you to care for them the same way you would care for a full-term baby.

Some of the features of our NICU include:

• 23 private rooms
• Baby cameras for live video-feed monitoring upon request
• One triplet room and three twin rooms
• Ronald McDonald Family Room
• State-of-the-art monitors and ventilators
• Two parent "rooming-in" rooms when parents need to be close to baby

Additionally, we work closely with the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children’s Level IV NICU—the largest NICU in Colorado. If your baby needs a more advanced level of care, we will quickly transfer them to this Level IV NICU.

The Ronald McDonald Family Room

The Ronald McDonald Family Room offers you and your family a place to rest while caring for your baby. This room is located on the second floor just steps away from our NICU and pediatric department. Here, parents can relax in the comfort of home, take a nap or get some much needed quiet time away from the hospital atmosphere.

Staying close by allows you to better communicate with your child's medical team, alleviating stress and helping with coping. Additionally, you may find comfort being surrounded by families in similar situations.

Features and services of the Ronald McDonald Family Room include:

• Hot food and snacks
• Internet access
• Kitchenette, which includes a microwave, oven and refrigerator
• Quiet reflection area
• Ronald McDonald volunteer staff from 8:00am to 8:00pm daily
• Seating area with a TV
• Shower facilities
• Utility room with washer and dryer

Safety and security measures

To ensure the safety of you and your newborn, we have several security measures in place:

• All Birth Place staff who handle your baby have a special ID badge.
• We have an infant protection system with 24-hour monitoring.
• Our staff is thoroughly trained on our sophisticated protection system, which includes electronic devices, cameras and other safety measures.
• The second and third floors are secured. All visitors will press a camera phone for entry, and all visitors will wear a special ID badge.

One of your baby’s best protectors, however, is you. Please do not hand your baby to anyone who does not properly identify themselves to you and is not wearing the appropriate ID.

Postpartum care

Following childbirth, you and your baby are transitioned to a private room in our mom-baby unit. Here, our staff provides postpartum care and support to help you recover from childbirth and bond with your new baby. We provide breastfeeding support from certified lactation consultants and other special services.

Are you having a baby at Sky Ridge Medical Center or have you already had one? To receive news, health tips and event information and connect with other families, "Like" Sky Ridge on Facebook.