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Home › Articles › Labor Preparation › The Grand Tour

The Grand Tour

A Quick Trip Through the Labor and Delivery Room

By Jacqueline Rupp

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As you've awaited your baby's birth you've probably tried to imagine all the details of what the day will be like, playing out all the specifics of the birth. But your vision might be a bit blurry when it comes to the actual details surrounding where you'll give birth.

You may have taken a tour of the hospital, even requesting that certain accommodations be in place in your room. Still, it's nice to have a primer for what the room will be like and what the myriad of equipment is for. So here we go! Get ready for the grand tour of your baby's birthplace.

Let the Tour Begin
This is it – the big day has finally arrived. The contractions are real and not a false alarm. Today is the day of your baby's birth. As soon as you arrive at the hospital you will be evaluated to find out if you are actually in labor. Your cervical dilation, contractions and fetal heart rate will be measured. After making sure you are in actual labor, it is off to the labor, delivery and recovery room, or "LDR" for short.

The LDR room is the place where you will stay during the entire process, unless a C-section is required. "At our hospital, like many others across the country, you would have your own private room, not a shared room," says Lia Stark of Womancare Birth Center at Magee-Women's Hospital, part of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania. "The majority of LDR rooms are now private, allowing for family to stay with the mother for the entire delivery process."

As a clinician, Stark has had more than 18 years' experience as a registered nurse certified in obstetrics. "Our rooms are set up so as you first walk in there is a sink with a cabinet, a glider rocker and a private bath," she says. There is the bed, sometimes a fold-out recliner for a family member to relax on and maybe even a concealed entertainment center. Many hospitals are designing their LDR rooms to resemble a bedroom, with all the technological equipment stored in attractive cabinetry rather than stark hospital stainless steel. We'll get into all these technological specifics later. Right now, it's time to get settled in.


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