Your Experience
Your Experience
Preparing for baby is an exciting time. There are so many things to do, including getting ready for your hospital stay. Use this list to help you prepare for your time at our Family Maternity Center.
A New York State regulation requires that you select your baby’s pediatrician before your hospital stay. We cannot discharge your baby unless we have the name of the pediatrician on record. This also allows us to keep your baby’s doctor informed and forward your baby’s records after you leave the hospital.
If you are planning to use a breast pump, find out what your health insurance will cover. Learn more about Breast Pump options.
Learn to use your baby’s car seat before your delivery day. Review the instructions (usually found under the seat or behind the back) and practice adjusting the straps, strapping the baby in correctly (use a life-size doll for this), and placing the seat in your car safely.
You may also wish to have your car seat inspected. Having your car seat checked by a certified technician will give you confidence that your car seat is installed properly and your baby will be safe. Find a child safety seat fitting station near you.
Pack a bag in advance so you’ll be ready whenever your labor begins. You can find lots of lists and suggestions online to help you pack the right items for your own comfort.
Be sure to bring your insurance card with you. Registration for your upcoming maternity stay with mail-in form or online registration is no longer required. If you have questions, please call (585) 341-6875.
Questions about what to pack? Download our "What to Pack" Guide
Questions regarding pre-admission?
Call (585) 341-6875
Our beautiful Family Maternity Center at Highland Hospital provides for every aspect of your birthing experience, whether your labor and delivery is uncomplicated, or you and your baby need some special assistance. You will find everything you wish here for your personal comfort, your support person’s needs, and your baby’s first moments, hours and days after birth.
When you arrive at Highland Hospital, please enter through the main lobby. Take the purple elevator to the Family Maternity Center, located on the third floor. Your admitting nurse will assess your progress in labor and begin the admission process.
You will labor, deliver your baby, and recover in one of our twelve birthing rooms. These private rooms are designed to provide a relaxed atmosphere so you can fully appreciate the birthing experience. Each birthing room is equipped with a tub or a shower to help you stay as comfortable as possible during labor. You will have access to a full range of pain relief options, including alternative therapies and epidural anesthesia, as you prefer.
Should you require a Cesarean delivery, the Center has operating rooms fully equipped and readily available for Cesarean deliveries, complicated deliveries, and multiple births.
Your medical team will keep one another informed of your progress through our online information system, ensuring that every member—your OB/GYN, midwife, nurses and others— know exactly what is happening and when they are needed in the birthing room.
Most deliveries go just as hoped, but there may be times when your baby may need a little bit of extra care. As an affiliate of UR Medicine, we have a direct line to Strong Memorial Hospital and their Maternal-Fetal Care Program. You and your new baby deserve only the best.
Skin to skin is recommended as soon as medically possible after your baby's birth. You are encouraged to touch, hold, and cuddle your baby. We also encourage breastfeeding parents to feed the baby as soon as possible after delivery.
After your baby’s birth, you and your baby will remain in your private childbirth room for one to two hours. Your nurse will closely monitor you and your baby during the first few hours following delivery. You are encouraged to walk and move about as soon as you feel able to do so, and your nurse will help you to the bathroom.
After delivery, you will go to one of our 30 fully furnished, homelike suites for the remainder of your stay.
Your primary support person may stay in your room. We have comfortable sleep chairs if they want to spend the night with you and the baby. Our spacious, warm, and comfortable lounge areas are available to you and your family for relaxing together and getting to know your new baby.
Our lactation consultants will be available to answer any questions, assist with feedings and provide breastfeeding education as needed. Our nursing staff is also trained in breastfeeding and can help support you as well.
If your baby's pediatrician does not make hospital visits, our full time staff pediatrician or pediatric nurse practitioner will check your baby each day.
Your health care team will be there to support you as you learn how to care for your newborn. Knowing what to expect will make this special time feel more joyful and less overwhelming.
In the first few days after your baby is born, you have a wonderful opportunity to bond with your baby, learn how to tell when your baby is hungry, and practice baby-led breastfeeding. We encourage you to keep your baby with you as much as possible during your stay at the Family Maternity Center. When you want privacy or rest, your baby will be cared for in our nursery.
For your baby’s safety, we request that your baby be placed in the bassinet when being transported to the nursery or when you are not holding the baby. Never leave the baby unattended on your bed.
Your baby will receive several health screening tests in the hospital that are required by New York State. You will be informed of all test results before you leave the hospital.
- Bilimeter: Screens for jaundice without the need for a painful blood test
- A blood test for several inherited metabolic disorders, congenital hypothyroidism, and other problems with the blood, including sickle cell disease and HIV
- Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD): While only about one percent of all babies have CCHD, all babies are screened for this because early intervention is essential
- Hearing test
- In addition, the New York State Health Department and the American Academy of Pediatrics both recommend that your baby be given a Hepatitis vaccine at birth. Your baby will also receive erythromycin eye ointment and a vitamin K injection after delivery, procedures that are mandated by New York State
Talk with your baby’s pediatrician if you have any questions concerning these tests.
Safety and security for you and your baby are our priority while you are here at the hospital. Here are the ways we ensure the safety of your newborn:
- A special security band will be placed on your baby immediately after birth and will remain until you go home.
- Your newborn is identified at delivery through footprinting in addition to the identification bands that will match the parent's bands.
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) laws prevent us from giving information over the phone or in person to family and visitors. Please be certain you have a phone tree or communication plan in place for your family and friends.
- When rooming-in with your newborn, you must be able to respond to and care of him or her.
- Your nurse call bell is kept within reach—please use it whenever you need assistance.
- A bulb syringe is always in the crib.
- A dim light is left on at night when your newborn is in your room.
- Before leaving the hospital, you will be asked to watch a video about Shaken Baby Syndrome to help you understand how best to care for a crying baby.
- We also will ask you to watch a video on safe sleep before you leave the hospital.
Going home with your baby is an exciting time and there are a few things you will want to remember.
If you have a vaginal delivery, your stay is 1 - 2 days. If you have a Cesarean birth, your stay will be 2 - 3 days.
Discharge times will vary. Please make arrangements ahead of time for a ride home. Free parking is available on the day of discharge with the baby.
It is a New York State law that all babies go home from the hospital in a car equipped with an infant car seat. On your departure day, please have someone bring your car seat into the Family Maternity Center so we can help you secure the baby in the seat for the first time.
When you go home, the baby’s birth and medical records will be forwarded to your baby’s pediatrician. Contact information will be provided on your discharge instructions should you need assistance or have questions about your first few days home with your baby.
Prior to discharge from Highland Hospital, your doctor will answer questions and provide instructions about your care at home. You will need to visit your baby’s pediatrician for an important, but routine, examination within 2 business days of your discharge from the Family Maternity Center. Before you leave the hospital, you should schedule this first visit with your pediatrician.
If your baby needs to remain in the Special Care Nursery for additional care, you may go home before your baby does. If this is the case, keep your identification bracelet on. Your partner/support person should also continue to wear their band, as the information on the bands will be checked with each visit.
For current visitation policies, please review the Highland Hospital Visitation Policy.
Parking is available in the hospital ramp garage. Please note that we do not offer parking vouchers for visitors, but a 24-hour pass can be purchased from the garage attendant.
Policies may be subject to change due to community health concerns during your stay.