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The Family Birthing Center at St. Luke's Hospital offers comprehensive maternity care with an emphasis on "family." The center offers eight private labor/delivery/recovery/postpartum (LDRP) suites where mothers and their new arrivals spend their entire stay, as well as three additional private suites. And, although the LDRPs are almost as comfortable as home, they also are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment to make sure baby's arrival goes as smoothly as possible. If the need arises, a cesarean birthing suite is nearby for surgical deliveries.

The Family Birthing Center is staffed by nurses who are specially trained in maternity care. Anesthesiologists are available 24-hours-a-day, and nurse mid-wives work in conjunction with obstetricians, neonatalogists, pediatricians and family practitioners.

The emphasis on family continues after your "special delivery" arrives. Each LDRP offers a couch that converts to a sofa so Dad can spend the night, and a gourmet feast allows new - or not-so-new - parents to share an intimate dinner before they leave St. Luke's. There's even a personalized blanket for baby to commemorate this special time.

For more information about the Family Birthing Center and its maternity classes, or to schedule a tour of the department, call 419-891-BABY (2229).