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Hospital Admission Hours/Entrances
Visitor Policy During Labor and Delivery
Items to Bring With You
Analgesia and Anesthesia for Labor and Delivery
Confidentiality
Rooming In
Special Comfort During Your Stay
Birth Certificates
Birth Announcements
Postpartum Visitor Policy
Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (RNICU)
Ellison Room (Mother's Room)
Discharge Procedures
Hospital Admission Hours/Entrances
From 5:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., you may enter Sparrow Hospital using the Michigan Avenue entrance. Sparrow campus
visitors and patients should park in the Parking Deck located on the corner of Michigan Ave. and Pennsylvania
Ave. Parking fees are $2.00 and are collected as you exit the deck. Valet parking is available for $3.00
between the hours of 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday - Friday and 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the main
entrance of the hospital.
Proceed to Obstetric Services on the third floor.
For our patient's safety, the main entrances to all locations are locked between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. If you are
visiting the hospital between these hours, please enter through the Emergency Entrance.
Visitor Policy During Labor and Delivery
While in Sparrow's Labor and Delivery, you may have birth support persons in the room with you. Your children may
visit during your labor and delivery, but they must be supervised by an adult other than your labor support
people.
For patient's safety, security and privacy, and to protect your confidentiality, visitors may not wait or
stand in hallways or around the nurses' station. Keeping hallways clear assures each patient that we are able
to act quickly, if needed, and protects the privacy of new patients who are coming in as well as those whose
labor is already in progress. A lounge and the hospital cafeteria are available nearby for visitors.
Items to Bring With You
When packing your bag to bring to the hospital, make sure to include the following:
- slippers
- robe
- a well-fitted bra or nursing bra (if you plan to nurse)
- cosmetics (if desired)
We encourage you to wear hospital gowns, as personal items of clothing will
not be laundered by the hospital. Also, please bring the blue "Congratulations on Your New Baby"
teaching folder that you were given at your physician's office. This is also available online by
clicking here.
Please do not bring jewelry or large sums of money. Sparrow cannot be responsible for items kept in your room,
however, a vault is available for your valuables you wish safeguarded during
your stay.
Analgesia and Anesthesia for Labor and Delivery
Sparrow supports the choice of natural childbirth and offers a variety of pain relief options,
including a 24-hour epidural service. A full-time obstetric anesthesiologist and nurse anesthetist can provide you with complete anesthesia care.
Confidentiality
The Labor and Delivery staff cannot release patient information to family and friends over the phone due to patient confidentiality.
There is, however, a phone available in each labor room. Any incoming calls will be transferred to your room from the nursing station unless you request otherwise.
Rooming In
We support mothers and babies staying together throughout the hospital stay. This is an important time for you to learn how to care for yourself and your baby. Your nurse will be available to support and assist you with the care of your baby.
If you would like to rest for a while without your baby, Sparrow's professional nursing staff will care for your newborn in the nursery.
Special Comfort During Your Stay
The safety and security of mothers and infants is our primary concern. Your nurse will discuss safety issues with you during your admission.
During your stay, educational programs may be viewed over Sparrow's television system. A variety of educational videos are also available to watch at your convenience.
Please talk with your nurse if you have questions while viewing these programs. You will recieve a complete schedule of available programs on admission to the Mother Baby Center.
A photographer will take a picture of your baby, which you may choose to purchase. You are under no obligation to purchase the pictures. Individual photos or packages are available. Your order will be mailed to your home. Proceeds from these sales help fund hospital services and equipment needs through the Sparrow Auxiliary, a volunter group.
If you would like to see a member of the clergy, Sparrow's Pastoral Care will be pleased to meet with you. Please ask your nurse for assistance.
Birth Certificates
A records clerk will visit you in the Mother Baby Center after your baby is born. She will need the following information about you and the baby's father:
- Correct spelling of names
- Social security numbers
- Dates of birth
- County, Township, Country of Birth
- Ancestry
You will receive a Certification of Birth during your stay at Sparrow. This is not an official Birth Certificate. Application for an official birth certificate must be made to either the Ingham County Clerk's office of the Michigan State Health Department. You will receive more information about this during your stay in Sparrow's Mother Baby Center. You will also receive information regarding a social security number for your infant. We also offer paternity establishment if you request.
Birth Announcements
Most newspapers require the use of your full names
and your city in published birth announcements. However, national child
safety organizations recommend that only your last name and no address be
given in publicly printed announcements. Please consider the risk to your
infant's security when deciding what information to include.
Sparrow is pleased to offer Baby
Online, a free, secure, online birth announcement service.
See your admission packet for enrollment forms and more information.
Postpartum Visitor Policy
Family and friends are always eager to celebrate the birth of a new baby. Although visitors are more than welcome, limiting the number of visitors to two or three at a time is important because:
- We are concerned with providing for the safety and security of you and your baby at all times.
- Caring for yourself and a baby requires learning many things, and new mothers need rest and time to learn this information.
- If a mother chooses to breastfeed, she may need additional rest and privacy to learn and practice these skills.
Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (RNICU)
Should your new baby need special care, you can be confident that Sparrow's RNICU will provide the very best care in mid-Michigan. With highly trained nurses and the latest technology, even the highest risk babies get the care they need. The RNICU staff cares for babies experiencing difficulty such as those born prematurely or with birth defects, or those having trouble breathing. Sparrow's physicians and nursing staff encourage frequent contact between parents and infants in the RNICU.
Ellison Room (Mother's Room)
Occasionally, some babies must remain in the hospital after the mother has been released. For these mothers, Sparrow provides the Ellison Room - a room in which you can stay to be close to your baby. There is no charge for the Ellison Room, however, stays are currently limited to three days and are based on availability. It is important to check in at the Mother Baby Center nurses' station to sign up and receive additional guidelines for use of the Ellison Room.
Discharge Procedures
Discharge orders for you and your baby must be written by your physician. Mother Baby Center nurses will give
you discharge information and remove one of the baby's identification bracelets. After that you may dress your
baby and get ready to go home.
When you are ready, you may notify your nurse and she will make arrangements for your discharge. A staff member
will come with a wheelchair and take you to the hospital's main entrance to be picked up.
It is Michigan law that all children under one year of age, must be safely secured in a child seat, regardless of
where they ride in the vehicle. Your baby's infant car seat should be brought to the hospital before discharge
for the trip home.
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