Carle Health Methodist Birthing Center in Peoria

Having Your Baby at the Methodist Birthing Center

The Birthing Center at Carle Health Methodist Hospital is the perfect place to welcome your wonderful new baby. Our labor and delivery team takes care of you from the moment you check in.

Methodist Birthing Center delivers nearly 2,000 amazing babies each year. Our team of health care professionals treats each delivery as a unique experience. The Birthing Center gives you personalized care and support from the start of your pregnancy through your first months at home with your baby.

We work with your physician or midwife to help you deliver your baby and share the joy with your family. We support low-intervention birth choices while being prepared for the unexpected.

Why Have Your Baby at Methodist Birthing Center?

Depending on your birth plan, you might welcome your baby into the world through natural birth, vaginal birth using pain medications or C-section. Our birthing center offers comprehensive services and amenities to support your delivery choice. You'll experience:

• Comfortable setting: Your entire birthing experience and postpartum care will take place in a relaxing, private room.
• Minimal interruptions: We'll coordinate exams for you and your baby to minimize interruptions to your bonding time.
• Right care for urgent situations: In our state-of-the-art labor and delivery rooms, you'll have access to the most advanced technology if it's needed.
• Baby-friendly destination: As a hospital that has implemented baby-friendly practices, we will help you and your baby with breastfeeding immediately after birth.

Supporting Your Birth Choices

Your personal birth choices are our mission. If you are planning a natural birth, we offer the latest in low-intervention labor and delivery options. Our nurses are all trained in drug-free (non-pharmaceutical) birthing methods.

Some of the many birth choices we offer are:

• Nitrous oxide
• Jet tubs and birthing balls and bars
• Wireless fetal monitoring
• Baby-friendly practices aimed at keeping you and your baby together as much as possible.
• Nursery support if you need extra help or care

If you are planning a medicated birth, you have options, including the flexibility to change your mind. Some women find that they tolerate labor better than they anticipated. Either way, our staff will work with your doctor and monitor you and your baby throughout the birth.

A C-section, planned or unplanned, is very stressful. We have advanced technology available in all of our birthing rooms and specialists on-site 24/7.

Your birth choices include planning for your family. We'll provide options to shape your future, including tubal ligation and other procedures. Specify all of your choices in your birth plan.

Comfort, Privacy and Family

We strive for a safe, comfortable labor and delivery. You'll experience:

• Simple arrival process: In most cases, you'll come straight up to the Birthing Center, with no need to stop in registration. If you arrive in the emergency department (ED), you will be brought up to the Birthing Center to receive care. Doctors called obstetric (OB) hospitalists are specially trained to check for labor symptoms and concerns. They are available 24/7 in case of emergencies.
• Private room: Your birthing experience takes place in the comfort of a private LDR (labor-delivery-recovery) room. This beautiful, nurturing environment feels more like home than a hospital. Of course, the latest technology is there too, out of sight unless it's necessary.
• Family visitor accommodations: If you have other children, they may spend time with you during your birthing experience. They can also enjoy our comfortable family lounge (under adult supervision).
• Private postpartum care: After delivery, you will move to a quiet postpartum room where you and your family can bond with the new baby.

Ready for the Unexpected

Labor and delivery complications are uncommon, but they can be stressful. Our team of specialists is available 24/7, including:

• OB hospitalists: We have specially trained obstetricians in our Birthing Center. Your personal physician or midwife will direct your care. Rest assured that we have an obstetrician on the unit at all times in case of an unexpected complication.
• Nursing staff: All our nurses are OB-trained. You have experts with you throughout your stay.
• Perinatologist: This specialist in high-risk pregnancy is available 24/7 to help in case of labor or delivery complications.
• Neonatologist: A doctor who specializes in the care of sick or premature newborns is available 24/7 to handle babies' unique medical needs.
• Nurse anesthetist: A specially trained anesthesia provider is available 24/7 in the Birthing Center to address pain management needs.

Our certified Level II Nursery with Extended Neonatal capabilities is available to provide specialized care anytime a baby has a problem. We care for at-risk babies born at 32 weeks' gestation or later. In the rare cases that a baby requires highly complex care, we'll quickly transfer them to the appropriate Level III facility. Learn more about how we support families when labor gets complicated.

Inviting Postpartum Spaces

To make childbirth a more intimate experience for you, your partner and your baby, we guarantee a private postpartum room. Learn how we offer baby-friendly first days.

Our modern and updated spaces are comfortable for your family, so you can include them as you welcome your new baby to the world. Your support person should be comfortable too. Our rooms offer a comfortable, in-room bed for a homelike experience.

As a new mom, you deserve special attention. At Methodist, new mothers have access to room service from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Choose your favorite meals, snacks and desserts from our full-service menu during your recovery time. We have tasty options available if you deliver at other times of the day.

Labor and Delivery at Methodist Hospital: Why Choose Us?

Our nurses, case managers and lactation specialists work closely with you and your midwife or physician. Having your baby at the Birthing Center means modern rooms and technology designed to make your birth experience comfortable and safe.

And while it's rare, sometimes things don't go as planned. We have your back (and your baby's). A neonatologist and other essential members of our team are available 24/7 in case of labor complications.

Our breastfeeding support programs and other programs help keep you and baby healthy when you go home. We offer services for family planning, too. We want to be your partner in building your family, your way.

Low-Intervention, Personalized Care: What's Available at Methodist?

You've done the research and made choices about your baby's birth. You may be planning a natural birth, or you might decide you need pain medications or will have a C-section. No matter how you are welcoming your new baby, we have the tools to make it happen.

• Your birth plan choices: We work with you and your doctor or midwife during your pregnancy. Together, we plan for a low-intervention delivery. You can start making your birth plan now now. You might include:
  • Support from a nurse-midwife for a more personal and natural approach to labor and delivery
  • Options such as nitrous oxide and water therapy to manage contractions and discomfort naturally
  • Birthing balls and wireless fetal monitors to let you move around during labor
• Baby-friendly approach: You and your baby will be together as much as possible during your stay. Nursery support is available for families needing extra care.
• Comfort and convenience: To make your experience easier and safer, you'll move through check-in and into your private room as quickly as possible. At the Birthing Center, you and your family spend the first days with your baby in a private room. Our postpartum team keeps interruptions to a minimum.
• Breastfeeding assistance: A lactation specialist works with you to make sure breastfeeding is going well and help work out any problems. If you are not able to breastfeed, we'll help you set up a healthy feeding plan for your baby.
• Support into your "fourth trimester": Get help in baby's first months — your "fourth trimester" — with tools that help you take care of yourself and watch for postpartum issues. New moms can get breastfeeding advice from home with our video breastfeeding programs.

What's next?

Start getting ready for your delivery now. We can help you understand what to expect and plan your preferred birth experience. Get to know us when you:

• Sign up for free and low-cost classes: Find classes for you and your birth partner and even siblings. See our Classes and Events page or call 309-671-2522.