Labor and Delivery Unit

Welcoming Your Baby Into the World

Pre-register for your delivery here.

Norman Regional’s team of experts is ready to care for you as you welcome your new addition into the world, with board-certified physicians, registered nurses (RNs), lactation consultants and other clinicians.

Our exceptional clinical care team works with families to ensure every experience is tailored to their specific needs and desires while ensuring safety every step of the way.

Tour our Labor and Delivery Unit virtually on our Pregnancy and Childbirth page.

Labor-Management Options

We offer a variety of labor-management options that are dependent on the level of labor support desired. If you’re not sure what you want or what to ask for; check out our patient preference menu for a few suggestions. Remember; it’s important to discuss these with your OB-GYN.

Personalized Care through the TeamBirth Process
Mobile monitoring to facilitate freedom of movement
Spacious in-room showers
Birthing balls – Peanut balls
Pain management options

Newborn Transition Team

Prior to delivery, you will meet a member of our Newborn Transition Team. This is a specialized team of RNs who attend every delivery 35 weeks gestation and above. They are highly skilled in newborn care, resuscitation and transition. Their focus is support of your baby from the moment they deliver and take their very first breath, on through transitioning to routine care. They will help you initiate skin-to-skin as quickly as possible following delivery (if desired) and provide continued monitoring of your baby, ensuring safe transition to life outside the womb.

After your baby moves from transition to routine care, usually two to three hours after delivery, your family and care will move upstairs to our Women’s and Children’s Unit. This is where you will enjoy the rest of your stay until you and your family are ready for discharge home.

Newborn Medications

These medications are recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and will be given to your newborn shortly after birth:

Erythromycin – eye ointment to help protect from eye infections that can be acquired during or after delivery
Vitamin K – a shot in the thigh to help protect from potentially life threatening bleeding in newborns
Hepatitis B vaccine – a shot to help protect newborns from Hepatitis B. The shot is most effective when given at birth.

Skin-to-Skin

The first hour following delivery is so special, we refer to it as ‘The Golden Hour.’ During this time, your health care team will encourage uninterrupted, skin-to-skin time, at least until the first feeding is complete. There is a lot happening in that tiny body, and skin-to-skin helps with it all!

Skin-to-skin is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and has important health benefits including:

Helping your baby regulate their temperature, breathing, heart rate and blood sugar
Helping your uterus shrink back to normal size
Enhancing bonding
Soothing you and your baby

Your health care team will continue to encourage you and your significant other to practice skin-to-skin for ongoing benefits throughout your stay and even after discharge. It is important for the safety of your baby that you are awake, alert and attentive, during skin-to-skin. (Without distractions from phones or visitors.) You may find the semi-reclined, or upright position, works best to see that your baby is well-colored, breathing and responsive. And should you get sleepy, it’s best to have an alert adult to lend you a hand.
During this time, consider:

Quiet time every day from 2 to 4 p.m. - We have quiet time on our unit, allowing our parents and their newborns to bond, rest and breastfeed uninterrupted. We encourage our families to refrain from accepting visitors during this time.
See one of our lactation consultants - Breastfeeding is very important to us at the hospital. Our staff are all skilled in helping you get off to a good start, but in case you need expert advice, we offer a full lactation department with board-certified lactation consultants available seven days a week. After you go home, if you still feel the need for assistance, our consultants are available to you on an outpatient basis by appointment.

We encourage you to have a designated support person to stay with you in the hospital and after you go home. Having a baby and adjusting to the demands of a newborn is tiring, and it’s always good to have someone ready to take over to allow you some rest. Make sure you discuss any needs with your nurse prior to discharge so we can assist you.

If you would like to learn more, you can read our skin-to-skin brochure below, or click here.

Siblings

Norman Regional’s team has something special for siblings who are welcoming a new brother or sister. Please make sure to check-in at the main desk in the Labor and Delivery Unit and ask about the sibling gift. We welcome siblings during this exciting time and understand they are a vital part of your growing family. Children 12 years old and under must be accompanied by an adult other than the patient.

Labor and Delivery Unit Patient Reviews

At Norman Regional, we have you covered from the time you find out you’re expecting, to delivery and beyond. We’re also here to address any unexpected events along the way. Our patients can expect respectful, individualized care from a team of clinicians who demonstrate love and compassion to every birthing person. But don’t take our word for it - here's feedback from some of our most recent patients.

What our Patients are Saying:

"Everyone was very friendly and treated me with so much care and respect. I never felt uncomfortable to ask questions or make requests. Everyone was amazing during my stay here."
"I need to make it known that from the very beginning of walking in to me leaving with our new bundle [of joy], I have never had an amazing experience like me, my husband & newborn had. Thank you to [L&D and W&C nurses] for going above and beyond each and every time they entered our room. Thank you to all our PCTs who came & helped us as well as all our lactation support."
"I absolutely loved my stay here & will be recommending to other soon to be mothers! Thank you for making us feel at home!"
"I really want to stress how important the nurses are from L&D to maternity. I loved both of my L&D nurses but especially appreciate how kind, sensitive, understanding & informative [they were]. Nurses are such wonderful people & I cannot thank them enough for walking me through this entire process. This also includes the lactation nurses. Thank you so much for everything, I appreciate all the caregiving."
"This was my first time here and from the time I came in up until me leaving this morning, it has been a wonderful experience. Everyone on the staff was kind and went out of their way to make me feel very comfortable. ALL of them were respectful of my needs. I have to say xxxx was my favorite. She is the definition of a true nurse. She was kind and took care of all my needs. I felt safe while in her care. She made me feel all questions were answered with confidence. I hope all the students here learn how to be the nurse she is. Kindness is very important and she was truly great at that."
"Xxxx and xxxx were absolutely phenomenal. Everyone was great, but after my last birthing experience, they made me feel important & informed. They are an amazing team!"
"Every one of my team members was exceptional. Kind, caring, humorous, made me feel comfortable & at ease."
"Everything [was] excellent from doctors and all staff did excellent job."
"Excellent care from the beginning to the end."
"I would like to personally thank every single one of the nurses, staff members & techs throughout this journey of pregnancy. You all will always hold a huge place in our hearts. I promise that I will forever remember every single one of you. Thank you for going above & beyond for my little family."