Want to know what a hospital labor and delivery room is like before the big day? Daddy Brad visits MacDonald Women's Hospital in Cleveland, OH to check out the delivery rooms, accommodations, and equipment and learn what to expect at the hospital when "it's time." DadLabs Ep 629 is brought to you by Baby Bjorn.

Daddy Brad: Kimberly, thanks so much for having us here at the MacDonald's Women's Hospital, part of the University of Cleveland Hospital System. Would you show us around a labor and delivery room?
Kim Green: Sure, come with me.
Daddy Brad: So Kim, this is where it all happens. This is where labor and delivery takes place.
Kim: This is the room. This is where it happens.
Daddy Brad: All this high tech equipment. Tell us a little bit about it.
Kim: So this will be the room that the mom stays in for the duration, through delivery, unless of course, she has a C-section.
Daddy Brad: Right. So the whole time you get admitted and you're here. Everything's happening right here.
Kim: Everything's happening right here. We try to make the room as cozy as possible. We have a place for the dad and additional visitors. The bed is comfortable. We place the mom on the fetal monitor immediately after she comes in, gets situated. This bed of course, when it's time for delivery, it can break down into stirrups where she can put her legs up and deliver. If by any chance she needs to be back for a C-section, we have OR's on the floor that she could go to. But we don't anticipate that unless that's pretty much planned, a scheduled procedure.
Daddy Brad: And dad's right here with her the whole time?
Kim: Dad's right here the entire time. Very much involved in the laboring process, even holding a leg, assisting the mom with ice chips, and helping her breathe, and the different techniques whatever the mom chooses.
Daddy Brad: Hopefully worked all that out beforehand.
Kim: Yes, hopefully.
Daddy Brad: Learn the breathing techniques. Right, okay, so mom's here. The dad's been very supportive and we have the baby. What happens next?
Kim: We have the baby. The baby goes over on the warmer right there. The pediatricians come if necessary. Baby is dried off and taken care off. The essential things are done and the baby is brought immediately to the mom and the dad right here at the bedside. The baby never leaves the room unless medically needed.
Daddy Brad: At a certain point, does the baby go to the nursery?
Kim: The baby goes to the nursery after the mom is discharged to the postpartum floor. Which is typically an hour and a half, two hours, after the delivery. So the mom, the dad, and the baby are all here together able to bond. They can initiate breastfeeding, feeding the baby with a bottle, whatever they choose to do. So the baby never leaves the mom's side until after postpartum and then the baby goes upstairs with the mom and the dad at the side.
Daddy Brad: How many people normally attend the birth?
Kim: Typically we allow three people. We allow the dad and two additional visitors. And that's at the discretion of the mother regardless of what the policy is.
Daddy Brad: In addition to the OBGYN, who else from the hospital would be in here?
Kim: You would have a nurse that would be here. We also have an OR tech that assists with the delivery with the nurse at the bedside as an extra pair of hands. And you would have a pediatrician if that is needed.
Daddy Brad: Well that's great. This is a beautiful room and I'm sure a lot of dads will really appreciate kind of a sneak peek before they have to go into a room and if you're about to have a baby, go a take a tour of the hospital right? You offer these tours?
Kim: Yes, we offer tours through our childbirth educator and you can sign up online. If you want to talk to your obstetrician, we can set those up on the spot.
Daddy Brad: The more you know, the easier it is.