Labor and delivery at Rose Medical Center

Labor and delivery doctors in central Denver

Rose Medical Center welcomes over 4,500 babies each year. For more than 70 years, it has meant something special to have a Rose Baby. Our doctors and staff are dedicated to creating a safe, meaningful experience for every family.

For more information about Rose Medical Center's maternity services, please call Rose Babies at (303) 320-2001.

The Rose Babies experience

How do you envision your baby’s birth? Maybe it is unmedicated with the help of your partner, hypnotherapy and a doula in our Rose Babies Birth Center. Maybe it is using nitrous oxide to relax, then an epidural to numb the pain. Maybe it is a planned, family-friendly cesarean section (C-section) due to a high-risk pregnancy. Maybe it is with a midwife by your side—or maybe it is somewhere between all of that.

We are here to make sure you have access to all the resources you could need during labor and delivery, right here in central Denver.

Recognition

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Rose Medical Center's neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) was named the #1 NICU in HCA Healthcare for nursing excellence. Additionally, we have been named a Top 3 Colorado Birth Center (Colorado Parent Magazine), Best Maternity Hospitals 2020 (Newsweek), Maternal & Infant Care Quality Champion (CPCQC) and a Five-Star Recipient for Vaginal Delivery in 2021 (Healthgrades).

Expert pregnancy and childbirth care

Here are a few things that make Rose Medical Center a special place for welcoming your new family member:

• Experienced OB/GYNs and midwives with 24-hour coverage
• High-risk pregnancy care
• Award-winning labor & delivery service with nurses trained in advanced laboring techniques, including Spinning Babies®
• Compassionate nursing staff in our labor and delivery unit, in-hospital birth center, mom/baby postpartum unit and high-risk unit
• Comprehensive perinatal (during and after pregnancy) behavioral health program
• Prenatal care and programming, including childbirth and parenting classes
• Rose Mama Circles meetup groups
• Rose Doula Connection program
• Specialized care for transgender patients
• In-hospital and postpartum lactation support
• Well-baby nursery
• Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

Tour the Rose Babies unit

Peek inside our Rose Babies unit. We will take you around our labor and delivery unit, well-baby nursery and mom/baby unit (postpartum recovery). We would love for you to check us out any time in your pregnancy—or even before you conceive! Tours are online at your convenience.

We also invite you to visit the Rose Babies Facebook page to join a monthly Facebook Live Q&A Session about delivering at Rose.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we are unable to offer in-person tours. Please view our online tour and visit the Rose Babies Facebook page to join a monthly Facebook Live Q&A Session about delivering at Rose.

Tour Rose Babies online

For health and safety reasons, entering the NICU is not part of our guided tour. However, if you have a high-risk pregnancy or are expecting multiples, we can arrange for a private tour of the NICU. In these cases, please call our high-risk patient navigator at (720) 216-4290 to schedule a NICU tour.

Rose Center for Maternal Fetal Health

The Rose Center for Maternal Fetal Health provides high-risk pregnancy care in collaboration with referring OB/GYNs. Patients may be referred to our program for additional monitoring and care due to a condition affecting the expectant mother or a condition that has developed in the baby (or babies). Many women are referred for high-risk care because of pre-existing health conditions, advanced maternal age (mothers aged 35 and older), or conditions that arise during pregnancy. Our specialized physician and support staff are highly experienced in providing a full-spectrum of maternal-fetal care—from preconception to labor and delivery. To learn more, contact us at 303-320-7101.

Low-intervention birth at Rose Babies

The team at Rose Babies wants to support your vision for labor and delivery. We are proud to provide a unique level of support for low intervention births, sometimes called natural birth or unmedicated birth. The Rose Babies Birth Center is Colorado’s first in–hospital natural birth center. Here, you'll find a calming, home-like environment that supports low-intervention, physiological births. Additionally, each of our labor and delivery rooms are designed and equipped for women looking for birth support outside of medication and intervention.

Whether you are in our birth center rooms or traditional labor and delivery rooms, you are fully supported in your birth plan wishes by your trusted providers and our specially trained nurses. All while the hospital provides a unique safety net of excellence in obstetric and neonatal care should the need for additional support arise.

We want to help you feel as prepared as possible for your natural labor and delivery experience. We encourage everyone that is interested in a natural, unmedicated birth to attend our free Low-Intervention Birth Information Session. Here you will learn the many ways Rose is prepared to support low-intervention birth and what you can do to prepare yourself for the birth experience you desire.

• Additionally, we are the only hospital in Denver to offer multiple class options for preparing for an unmedicated, low-intervention birth to help you learn relaxation techniques and advanced labor skills and positioning.
  • Unmedicated Childbirth Preparation Series
  • HypnoBirthing Series
  • Advanced Labor Skills Supplement (for those that have taken a standard childbirth class but are still interested in an unmedicated labor) – Email us for details.

Nitrous oxide for pain relief during labor

Nitrous oxide, more commonly known as "laughing gas," is a colorless, odorless gas that can provide pain relief for laboring mothers. When used in a labor setting, the concentration is much lower than in other settings, such as at the dentist. The mix is 50 percent nitrous gas and 50 percent oxygen.

If you decide to use nitrous oxide, you will be in control of how often you use the gas, as you will be holding your own mask.

C-section births

Having a C-section is a decision made between you and your medical provider. This decision may be made anytime—in pregnancy or during active labor. We encourage you to discuss C-sections with your provider before your due date.

Many women choose to schedule a C-section for a variety of reasons, such as high-risk pregnancy, multiple babies or personal choice. Although, sometimes complications occur during the childbirth process that result in the decision to perform a C-section.

After a baby is delivered via C-section, our team will do a very quick vital check. Then, as long as you and your baby are stable and you consent, we will place your baby directly on your chest so you two can experience skin-to-skin contact.

However, if you do not feel stable enough for skin-to-skin contact or if medical needs make it challenging, your baby is placed in a bassinet right next to your head so your can see and talk to your new baby.

Safety for moms and babies

Rose Medical Center has multiple procedures and safeguards in place to ensure the safety and security of mothers and babies. In fact, the Rose Babies floor is a fully locked down and secure unit within the hospital. Only nursery staff members have access. A security guard is posted, and visitors need photo ID to get access.

Additional safety features include:

• All hospital staff are annually trained on security procedures.
• All official Rose Babies staff have pink bars on their hospital IDs, so they are easily visually identified.
• Each baby has an umbilical cord clamp that will trigger an alarm if tampered with or if baby is taken outside the secure area.
• You and your birthing partner will receive baby "bracelets."
• You are encouraged to go with your baby for any procedures, such as weight checks.
• Rooming-in is highly encouraged so your baby is with you as much as possible.
• Security cameras are at the elevators and visible from the nurses’ stations.