Misericordia

Congratulations on the anticipated arrival of

your baby!

Welcome!

• Welcome to the Misericordia Community

Hospital!• We hope this virtual tour

will answer some of the questions you might have about giving birth at our hospital.

• Our hospital is located across the street from West Edmonton Mall at 16940 - 87 Avenue in Edmonton, Alberta.

•

Misericordia

Emergency Department

• Please come directly to the Emergency Department on the east side of the hospital if…

1. -You feel you may be in an emergency situation.

2. -The birth of your child is about to happen.

Emergency Admitting Desk

• If you arrive at the hospital in the evening or night between 9:30 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. Monday to Friday or anytime during the weekend, please go directly to the Emergency Department entrance and follow the signs to Patient Registration.

DO NOT STAND IN THE TRIAGE LINE if you are here due to a pregnancy-related concern. Go directly to Patient Registration and tell them you are here due to a pregnancy-related concern.

Front Entrance & Main Admitting

• If you arrive at the hospital in the daytime between 6 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, come through the main entrance of the hospital and go directly to the Patient Registration desk.

Public Parking

• There is a public parking lot west of the main entrance of the hospital. There is also a lot next to the Emergency Department for 9:30 pm. to 5:30 am. admission.

• Parking can be paid at a machine in the parking lot. The machines take credit cards and coins only (no dollar bills or debit cards).

• Weekly and monthly passes are available through Protective Services for longer hospital stays.

No Smoking Policy

• No smoking is permitted inside of the hospital or anywhere on hospital property.

No Scents Makes Sense

THIS IS A SCENT-FREE HOSPITAL.

Please avoid wearing any perfume, body spray, after-shave, or scented products during your admission or while you visit people in the hospital.

There are staff and patients that have sensitivities to these products.

Cell Phone Policy

• Each birthing room has a telephone by the bedside, dial 9 for an outside line. Long distance calls can be made from these telephones only with a calling card

• We ask that you kindly turn off your cell phone when you are in the hospital room. Cell phones can be used in the hallway, but please respect those around you and keep your volume to a minimum.

Arrival to Labour & Delivery

• Mom will be brought up to the 3rd floor in a wheelchair and met by a nurse from Labour & Delivery

• Your support person is welcome to stay with you while you are assessed.

Assessment

• The nurse will discuss the reason for your visit.

A monitor will be placed on your abdomen to listen to your baby’s heart rate and record any contractions.

Birthing Room

If you are in active labour, you will be moved to a birthing room. This is a private room with a private bathroom and equipment for labouring and delivery.

The buttons on the side rail of the bed allow you to raise and lower the head and foot of the bed for your comfort. There is also a call-bell system at your bedside for calling your nurse.

For Your Comfort

• Each Birthing Room has a CD player. Listening to your own relaxing music makes labour more pleasant.

Some Moms find using their own pillows will help them relax.

Birthing Room

• Each birthing room has a shower. A shower can help reduce your discomfort and be very soothing in labour. There are emergency call bells in the shower and by the toilet.

There is a small closet for your personal belongings. Please leave valuables and large amounts of money at home.

You will not require the car seat until you are ready to go home with the baby.

Birthing Room

• The bed in the birthing room can be adapted to accommodate different labour and delivery positions.

• After the baby is born, he or she is usually placed upon mom’s chest where the umbilical cord will be clamped and mom or a support person can cut the cord.

Birthing Room

• Later your baby will be weighed and measured, and an identification band with mom’s name will be placed on baby’s ankle.

• If all is well, your baby is kept in the birthing room with you, and you can begin feeding your baby as soon as you and baby are ready. Your baby will be transferred to the Maternal/Newborn Unit (3 East) in mom’s arms.

• If your baby requires additional care, there is an infant care centre in each birthing room with equipment such as oxygen and suction for the baby.

Kangaroo Care is encouraged after birth. This is when Mom (or Partner!) hold baby skinto skin on your chest.

Labour & Delivery Visitor Guidelines

• For the safety and confidentiality of our patients, their families, and staff, our guidelines are as follows:

Three visitors in the labour room for labour Room.Two visitors in the labour room for the birth.One visitor in the Operating Room.One visitor in the Recovery Room post-surgery, the same

person who supported Mom in the operating room.

Other family and friends are encouraged to wait at home for any news. To protect the safety and confidentiality of our patients, visitors are not permitted to wait in the hallways. The staff will ask all additional visitors to wait in the Waiting Room.

Waiting Room

• There is a small lounge down the hall from the labour & delivery nursing station where support people can take a break. There is reading material, a television, and a pay phone they can use.

Operating Room

• There are two operating rooms on the unit where a cesarean section can be done. If mom is awake with a spinal or epidural for the surgery, one support person is able to attend the birth.

Post-Caesarean Recovery Room

• If all is well with the baby, he or she will go to the Recovery Room with mom. Mom and baby will be in the Recovery Room for about one hour.

• One support person can be with mom in the Recovery Room. Other visitors can see mom and baby when they are moved to the Maternal/Newborn Unit (3 East).

Multiples – Double Blessing!

• Twins born by vaginal birth or caesarean section will occur in the Operating Room to accommodate the extra-needed equipment and medical/nursing staff.

Intermediate Care Nursery (ICN)

• There is a nursery attached to the Labour & Delivery Unit called the Intermediate Care Nursery (ICN) Babies who require extra medical and nursing care may be admitted. Parents can spend time with their baby 24 hours a day.

ICN Hostel Room

• After mom is discharged, if baby has to stay in the ICN for a period of time, mom may be able to stay at the hospital in a specially set up hostel room.

There is no additional cost for mom to stay in the hostel room.

Unit 3 East (Maternal/Newborn Unit)

• Unit 3 East is our Maternal/Newborn patient care unit.

•• The average stay is 24-

36 hours after a vaginal delivery and

• 3-4 days after a cesarean section.

• There are three types of rooms. You can give your room preference when you first arrive and the room is booked after delivery. You will receive your room preference if it is available.

Where Baby Stays

Mom is encouraged to have the baby in the room with her as they recover together.

Rooms are booked on a first delivered-first booked basis. You may not get the type of room you have requested.

Ward Rooms

• Some of the rooms on Postpartum at the Misericordia have 4 beds in them.

• We try to fill these with 2 moms and babies per room. If it is really busy you may be in a room with 3 other patients. There is no additional charge for a ward room.

Partners may not stay the night in a ward room.

Semi-Private Rooms

• Semi-private rooms have two moms with their babies.

Semi-private rooms have a small closet and a shared bathroom. There is a charge for this room, the full amount is covered by many insurance plans.

Partners are not permitted to stay the night when mom is in a semi-private room

Private Rooms

room picture here

There is an additional charge for this room which may be covered by your insurance plan.

Mom and baby have the room to themselves with their own bathroom in a private room. There is a sleeping cot

Theme Rooms

The Misericordia Hospital has 4 theme rooms. All rooms have a home-like décor and have a double bed. They also have a private bathroom.

Included in the cost of the theme room is phone service and television service with a 27” flat screen TV. Two chairs allow for extra sitting space for visitors.

An exclusive theme room menu is offered to new moms. Guest trays may be ordered.

There is an additional charge for the Theme Rooms part of which may be covered by your insurance plan.

Theme Rooms

Aloha Suite

Port Royale Suite

Television Rentals• Please ask for the cost of TV rental

• Installation occurs:• 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Mon to Fri• 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m on Sat and Sun• No service on holidays• Payment is due before installation • and must be paid at the Gift Shop • in the lobby. We accept cash, • debit, and credit cards (no cheques).• TV rentals can start in Labour and Delivery

• For more information, call • (780) 735-2524.

Telephone Rentals

• There is a cost for telephone rental

• Installation occurs:• 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Mon to Fri• 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m on Sat and Sun• No service on holidays

• Payment is due before installation occurs and must be paid at the Gift Shop in the lobby. We accept cash, debit, and credit cards (no cheques).

• For more information, • call (780) 735-2524.

When Mom is Hungry

• There is a small kitchen area on Unit 3 East for mom to make herself a snack. If you bring any food from home, please be sure to label it with mom’s name.

Maternal/Newborn Unit Visitation

• Visiting hours are from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.. every day. Partners may stay the night only if Mom is in a private or Theme room.

• Children are not permitted to stay overnight as this is a safety and fire regulation.

Baby’s Car Seat

• When discharged from the hospital, it is the law in Alberta that every baby must be in an appropriate car seat. Please bring your car seat to the hospital on the day that baby is discharged.

• It is helpful for you to remove the car seat from the box, read the manual and practice put it in and our of your car before the baby is born

• If you have questions or concerns about what type of car seat you should have, check out the Safe Kids Canada web site at http://safekidscanada.ca for information on car seat installation and safety.

Paying Additional Hospital Fees

• Please check with the Business Office in the main lobby when you are discharged to pay any outstanding charges. If you are using an insurance provider other than Blue Cross, you will be asked to pay the charges and then submit a receipt to your insurance provider.

The Business Office is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday to Friday, closed on weekends and holidays. For more information about paying hospital charges, you maycall (780) 735-2713.

Prenatal Classes

The Misericordia Community Hospital offers three different times for prenatal classes. All prenatal classes include a tour of the Labour & Delivery area:

All classes have a registration fee of $85 per couple. We recommend choosing a class that finishes within 6-8 weeks of the due date.

Tuesday nights from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. for four weeks.

Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for one day.

Prenatal Class Outline

• * Anatomy and physiology of the female reproductive system• * Common discomforts in pregnancy• * Signs to report immediately• * Basic nutrition and weight gain• * When to come to the hospital• * Stages of labour and comfort measures (position changes, breathing)• * Rest, rhythm, and relaxation exercises• * Induction and augmentation of labour• * Medication options• * Assisted deliveries and caesarean sections• * The postpartum period (care of mom/baby, shaken baby syndrome)• * Skin-to-skin/kangaroo care• * Feeding your baby

• (Various videos will be shown throughout the classes)

Tours

• Registration is required for the tours of the Labour & Delivery and postpartum units. These are offered one

• Monday of each month at 7 p.m. The person registered may bring their partner with them.

• Hospital tours are free of charge and are 45 minutes in duration. Children under 12 are not permitted on the tour, and child care is not provided.

• For available hospital tour dates, and to book a tour, please call the Prenatal Booking Office at (780) 735-2760 or Email the Prenatal Booking Clerk at Katrina.Pederson@covenanthealth.ca.

Prenatal Class Contact Numbers

• The Prenatal Booking Office number is (780) 735-2760 and has a 24/7 recorded message on it. You can leave a message in one of the mailboxes (class registration, tour registration, general inquiries), or you can Email the Prenatal Booking Clerk at Katrina.Pederson@covenanthealth.ca. As classes can fill up quickly, it is best to book your class date as soon as possible. Ideally, you will want to take a class that finishes 6-8 weeks before your due date.

• You can also take a prenatal class at the Grey Nuns Hospital. Registration information is available on-line at http://www.caritas.ab.ca or by calling

• (780) 735-7449 on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

• Prenatal classes are also offered your local Public Health Centre and can be booked by calling Healthy Beginnings at (780) 413-7980.

• If you are expecting twins or triplets, the Lois Hole Hospital offers a class specifically for Moms expecting multiple births at (780) 735-4204.

Other Contact Numbers

• Prenatal Class Booking Office (780) 735-2760

• Labour & Delivery (780) 735-2764• Breastfeeding Clinic (postpartum) (780) 735-2577• Postpartum Health For Moms (780) 735-2757

• Main Switchboard (780) 735-2000• Patient Information (780) 735-2881• Television/Telephone Rentals (780) 735-2524

Congratulations!

• Congratulations in advance • on the birth of your baby!