Labor and Delivery Suites at Family Birth Center - Hyde Park
Our private labor and delivery suites help provide a comfortable, supportive environment that promotes natural labor progression. These rooms are equipped to encourage free movement, helping you manage pain naturally, position your baby optimally for birth, and potentially shorten labor time.
Labor and Birth Aids
The Family Birth Center – Hyde Park is stocked with a range of labor and birth aids, including:
- Birthing balls (also called labor, pushing or yoga balls)
- Peanut balls
- Pushing and squatting bars
- Birth stools (also called squatting, birthing or labor stools)
- Mirrors
Warm Water Immersion Therapy (Hydrotherapy Tubs)
Our natural birthing suites are equipped with built-in warm water immersion therapy (hydrotherapy) tubs. During active labor, hydrotherapy can offer pain relief and other benefits prior to delivery. The water is kept at a controlled temperature to avoid dehydration.
The advantages of warm water immersion may include:
- Soothing labor pain
- Softening the perineum, which may reduce the chance of episiotomy
- Lowering blood pressure
- Increasing blood circulation, allowing more oxygen in the womb
- Enhancing comfort and flexibility in positioning
- Mental and physical relaxation
'Gentle' C-Sections
A C-section does involve surgery, but we understand that your experience is far more than an operation. At the Family Birth Center, our experts perform "gentle" cesareans that support an inclusive delivery and bonding experience for you and your family.
In most cases, we allow one family member or guest to accompany you in the operating room. With a gentle C-section, sometimes called a "family-centered" or "natural" cesarean, you have choices that traditionally have only been offered with vaginal births.
During a gentle C-section experience, we encourage you to see, hold, feed and start bonding with your newborn right away.
Whenever possible:
- Immediate skin-to-skin bonding is supported and encouraged with cesarean and vaginal deliveries.
- Your blood pressure cuff and any other monitoring devices are placed on one arm, leaving your other arm free to hold your baby.
- You can breastfeed after cesarean delivery.
State-of-the-Art Surgical Suites and NICU
At the Family Birth Center – Hyde Park, our team manages even the most complex births with confidence and expertise. If a cesarean delivery (C-section) is the best option for you and your baby, our surgical suites are fully equipped to provide a safe, supportive environment to personalize your birth experience. Additionally, our location inside Comer Children’s Hospital enables streamlined transfers to our Level IV NICU for newborns who need specialized care due to illness or premature birth.
Visitor Accommodations
Each private suite is equipped with a convertible sleeping cot for overnight visitors. With a maximum of three visitors at a time allowed in your suite, our Family Waiting Room is available to accommodate additional guests.
Free Wi-Fi
The Family Birth Center – Hyde Park also offers free wireless internet access to keep you and your guests as informed, entertained and connected as you wish to be.