River Falls Area Hospital Birth Center

To schedule a tour or to learn more, call 715-307-6330.

Resources for parents

• Beginnings: Pregnancy, Birth & Beyond
• Birth center videotaping policy
• Making a birth plan
• Pregnancy & Parenting eMagazine

Welcome to the Birth Center at River Falls Area Hospital. You and your new baby are in the finest of hands at our Birth Center.

In a recent survey of our labor and delivery patients, the Birth Center earned the highest satisfaction rating among area hospitals.

Our Birth Center features:

• private, spacious birth suites
• complete pain management program
• choice: vaginal births, cesareans, vbacs, and waterbirths
• equipment needed for your baby's birth – such as fetal monitoring ? to measure your contractions, the baby's heart rate and other vital signs
• full-time OB/GYN staff to provide advanced care for complicated pregnancies and births, such as Cesareans ? or VBACs ?
• infant hearing screening
• breastfeeding ? (lactation) help by certified lactation consultants
• pediatric and family care physicians
• celebratory dinner for the new parents
• virtual nursery — if you desire, your baby's picture and birth information will appear in our virtual nursery at newbabynews.net after you leave the hospital
• gifts from us to you — new babies receive hand-knit caps and other gifts, compliments of the River Falls Volunteers in Partnership.

Birth Center staff

Our staff has decades of experience helping babies and their families get started. We have RNs certified in obstetric nursing, as well as nurses certified in prenatal education.

Our staff supports all birth plans ranging from non-medicated labors utilizing comfort and positioning techniques to labors managed with epidurals. We work with you to make your birth personal and comfortable according to your labor and birth preferences.

Fetal monitoring

We can assess your baby's well-being by checking your baby's heart rate while measuring your contractions.

Learn about different kinds of fetal monitors in our pregnancy and childbirth manual.

Cesarean birth

In a Cesarean birth, your baby is born through an incision (surgical cut) in your abdomen.

A Cesarean birth can happen with any pregnancy. Cesareans can be planned or unplanned. Learn what to expect in our pregnancy and childbirth manual.

Vaginal birth after a Cesarean (VBAC)

If you have already had an emergency or planned Cesarean, you may be able to attempt a vaginal birth with this baby. This birth is known as a VBAC.

Learn more about VBACs in our pregnancy and childbirth manual.

Getting breastfeeding well established

It may take time for for you to feel confident about breastfeeding and for you and your baby settle into a comfortable routine. This doesn't mean that you will have a lot of problems. It means that you and your baby may take a few weeks to get to know one another and how best to nurse.

Learn about changes that are part of establishing breastfeeding in our pregnancy and childbirth manual.

Birth Center tour

You and your baby are always the center of our attention.

Physicians who deliver obstetrics care at River Falls Area Hospital.

Family Medicine ? and Obstetrics and Gynecology ?

Family medicine

A family doctor is concerned with the general health needs of people of all ages. Focusing on the primary care of you and your family, he or she can refer you to a specialist or community resources when appropriate.

Obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN)

Some women choose an obstetrician/gynecologist as a main health care provider. OB/GYNs are doctors who specialize in the care of the female reproductive system, including pregnancy and childbirth. Nurse practitioners also can specialize in health care for women.

• Greg Goblirsch, MD
• Dennis Hartung, MD
• Alyssa Lynch, DO
• Greg Miller, MD
• Amaris Moore, MD
• Rita Raverty, MD
• Jon Susa, DO
• Carrie Torgersen, MD

Pediatrics ?

Pediatrics

Pediatricians are doctors who care for children. They specialize in the emotional, physical and social growth of babies to teens.

• Amber Morgan, MD

Private rooms

You and your baby will stay in our private mother-baby care rooms designed for you and your families' needs.

The mother-baby rooms feature a sleeper chair, telephone, TV, DVD/CD player and full bathroom.

Our private room Birth Center promotes mother/infant bonding and family/infant bonding. Your baby has been close to you for many months and thrives on the security of your familiar presence.

Caring for your baby in your room gives you a wonderful opportunity to get to know your baby's unique personality and to learn about or review infant care and feeding.

Expert guidance from our staff is available throughout your stay. They will provide you with the most up to date newborn care and postpartum care available. This education includes individual family instruction as well as live demonstrations, video and written material.

We want to ensure you and your family have all you need to stay healthy and make a smooth transition home.

Celebration dinner

We want to help celebrate the birth of your baby by providing dinner for you and your partner. Select your entrée from a menu designed to celebrate the miracle of birth, and enjoy a quiet dinner together before you head home.

Screenings

Newborn hearing, jaundice, critical congenital heart defect and metabolic screens are done prior to discharge to ensure your baby has a healthy start.

Car seat inspections

Car seat technicians are available to help ensure your infant car seat meets all the standards, as well as show you how to buckle your infant into the car seat properly prior to the delivery of your baby. Car seat technician availability is limited so be sure to inquire ahead of time.

Breastfeeding help

If you choose to breastfeed your baby, we have certified lactation (breastfeeding) counselors available. We also have an international board certified lactation consultant to assist you with breastfeeding. Talk with your nurse for any assistance you may need.

Getting breastfeeding well established

It may take time for for you to feel confident about breastfeeding and for you and your baby settle into a comfortable routine. This doesn't mean that you will have a lot of problems. It means that you and your baby may take a few weeks to get to know one another and how best to nurse.

Learn about changes that are part of establishing breastfeeding in our pregnancy and childbirth manual.

River Falls Area Hospital childbirth classes

Every mother's labor and delivery experiences are unique. And we believe your prenatal education should be just as personalized. We offer classes to help prepare you and your family for childbirth and your new baby.

To register for any of these classes, call 715-307-6060 unless otherwise noted.

Big Brother/Big Sister

Learn what babies are like, practice diapering a doll and take a tour of the Birth Center to get ready for your new sibling.

Healthy Pregnancy

Find out what to expect during the next nine months and beyond from certified prenatal and nutrition specialists. Call 715-425-6701 for specific class times and to register.

Childbirth Preparation

Learn about stages of labor, relaxation techniques, postpartum care and caring for your newborn.

Childbirth Express

This is a one day, 8 hour class that includes childbirth preparation, infant care and a tour of the Birth Center. We will cover the same information presented in the Childbirth Preparation weekly classes in a condensed version.

Breastfeeding Basics

Taught by a lactation consultant, this class teaches the benefits of breastfeeding, and explains breast feeding support resources and products.

Baby & Me

In partnership with the Family Resource Center

Learn about infant massage, nutrition and many parenting topics at this weekly playgroup for parents and their infants from birth to 12 months. Sessions are not sequential.

Jessica Swenson enjoying time with her son Isaac.

Great beginnings happen at the Birth Center

While preparing to deliver her son Isaac, Jessica Swenson envisioned a soothing water birth. By delivering at the Birth Center at River Falls Area Hospital, Swenson got all that she was hoping for.

During labor, Swenson sat in a tub of warm water while a nurse massaged her back. "I was able to focus on breathing and relaxing instead of contracting all my muscles," she said. "That really helped."

Families have options

"We work with you to make your child’s birth personal and comfortable, according to your labor and delivery preferences," said Birth Center Manager Julie McGary.

The facility is an ideal size for that, according to McGary. About 240 babies are born there each year. The center features four private, spacious birth suites. "Our experienced staff is able to provide personalized attention to every new mom and her baby," she said.

Swenson, 21, said she learned about water births in prenatal classes. "I wanted to be able to deliver naturally, like my mom. I thought this would be a unique way to deal with the pain of labor," she said.

Advanced care for difficult deliveries

Because the Birth Center is part of Allina Health, its staff receives the same thorough training as the staff at larger facilities. Using advanced technology, the staff can accommodate complicated pregnancies and births that require Cesareans as well as vaginal births after C-sections (VBACs.)

The Birth Center also accommodates preferences for pain management. "Our staff supports you whether you choose pain medicines or not," McGary said. If patients choose a medicine-free labor, the center can provide positioning techniques and aromatherapy to help alleviate pain.

Dads, significant others and labor coaches are made part of the birthing experience, too. They're encouraged to take an active role in coaching her through labor. Mom and her significant other are treated to a special dinner before going home.

"We consider patients as our highest priority here and the nurses maintain high skill levels to be able to deliver excellent care to them," McGary said.