What to expect when you’re expecting

Your bag is packed, you’ve lined up a pediatrician and finished decorating the nursery.

But do you know what to expect when you arrive at the hospital to deliver your baby?

At Huntsville for Women & Children and Madison Hospital, our goal is to make the entire childbirth process – from check-in to postpartum care – as smooth as possible for you and your family. And that starts the moment you step onto our campus.

At both Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children and Madison Hospital, expectant mothers can drive right up to our covered front entrance. Please let our attendant know if you need a wheelchair. Once inside, you will be directed to take the elevator to the Labor & Delivery Unit on the second floor.

If you are coming for a scheduled delivery, after checking in we’ll screen you and any support persons for COVID-19. As of March 6, 2021, Labor & Delivery, Mother Baby and Antepartum patients can have two designated caregivers at the bedside. For the most up-to-date visitor guidelines at Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children click here. For Madison Hospital guidelines click here.

Vaginal births take place in our modern, spacious, labor-delivery-recovery suites. For Cesarean deliveries, we have a dedicated surgical team and multiple operating rooms specially designed for childbirth. These areas are meticulously cleaned and disinfected daily by our professional environmental services staff.

Your safety is our top priority. Our staff is vigilant about sanitizing their hands and will wear the appropriate PPE while caring for you. You can help us by please wearing a mask when hospital staff is in your room.

If you are not scheduled for delivery but suspect you are in labor, it’s still important that you come to the hospital to be assessed – even if it’s the middle of the night.

At Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children, after checking in you will be taken across the hall to the region’s only OB Emergency Department. Here our board-certified OB hospitalists will determine if you are in labor and baby is coming. If so, you will be admitted to the Labor & Delivery Unit.

At Madison Hospital, our highly-trained labor and delivery nurses or an on-duty obstetrician will assess your labor and determine if it’s time to admit you to the hospital for the big moment.

As soon as baby arrives, our goal is to place your precious newborn on your chest for skin-to-skin time. Multiple studies have shown this is one the best ways to relax your baby, stimulate their interest in breastfeeding, and create an immediate bond between mother and baby.

On behalf of our entire staff, thank you for allowing us to care for you and your baby.

Renee Colquitt, CRNP, NNP-BC Director of Perinatal Services at Madison Hospital