Maternity Services

Delivering Your Child at Jefferson

Having a baby is an exciting and special time at Jefferson. We have an entire suite of services available to you from the time you start planning your pregnancy through delivery and beyond. You will have access to:

• Highly experienced and compassionate obstetricians
• Extraordinary nursing care
• Perinatologists (doctors who specialize in high-risk pregnancy)
• Anesthesiologists who have been specially trained for pregnant women
• Critical Care that includes a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), recognized as one of the best in the Philadelphia region

Your baby will be delivered in our post-partum nursery unit that is a highly secured area with only ID swipe access. We care for you and your infant in a family-centered approach and include the father or significant other in our care. We encourage rooming-in to enhance bonding and breastfeeding. Together with our dedicated case manager, social worker and home care coordinator, you will receive excellent care from admission to discharge.

Because we recognize that everyone learns differently, in addition to reading materials and instructions from your caregivers, you will have access to the Newborn Channel, which is only offered in hospitals. This network provides information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can watch more than 40 programs covering critical parenting topics, including Infant Care, New Mom Care, Breastfeeding, Car Seat Safety, Development Family Life and Immunizations.

If you are planning to breastfeed your child, you can consult with our international board-certified lactation consultants (IBCLCs) to learn about breastfeeding. The program offers many classes at convenient times so that you can be truly prepared for all of the changes about to happen. We also offer a range of educational classes for you and your family to help you understand all the changes about to occur in your life.

Our personal attention and the comfortable setting of a full-service hospital provide the perfect place for the birth of your baby. After your baby is born, we supply all the attention your newborn deserves, with a fully equipped and expertly staffed nursery.

Newborn Screening

Before leaving the Hospital, Pennsylvania law requires that your baby be screened for four health problems: PKU (phenylketonuria), hypthyroidism, sickle cell disease and maple syrup urine disease (MSUD). Screening is performed by taking a few drops of blood from your baby's heel and sent to a state-approved lab for screening. 

The state also mandates universal hearing screening for potential hearing impairment, so that treatment can begin as early as possible if there is a problem.

Discharge

Before you are discharged, you can have pictures taken of your baby. Your nurse will schedule a time for you to see the photographer. You will also need to fill out a the Birth Certificate/Social Security form for your baby and return it to your nurse.

When you are discharged and if you are driving your baby home, your baby must be put in a car seat in order to leave the Hospital. You will be happy to know that Jefferson has obtained certification as a Child Passenger Safety Technician (CPST) from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). We also offer Car Seat Classes as part of our Childbirth/Parent Education Program. 

Our care doesn't stop there. Make sure you schedule follow-up appointments for you and your baby. Your physician and case manager will follow up to make sure you and your baby are doing well at home.