Cherese Mari Laulhere BirthCare Center

• Babyscripts
• Orientation Brochure
• What to Expect in the OR - A Guide for the Support Person
• Immunizations for Pregnant Women

This handbook should be used as a guide to help you understand your surgery and recovery, and answer questions that you may have.

• English
• Spanish

Your Pregnancy Guide is filled with information, tips and answers to most questions for every step of your pregnancy journey.

In an effort to increase education, we provide moms with a new education book after delivery. It has a wealth of information about postpartum changes, breastfeeding education, postpartum depression, baby care, immunization, and car seat safety. We hope this helps ease the transition between the hospital and home with a new baby.

• English
• Spanish

In addition, we’ve partnered with Twistle, to send messages, reminders, and other useful health education directly from your health care team to your mobile device after you leave the hospital with your new baby.

The BirthCare Center is committed to providing a safe, compassionate and nurturing environment during the birth experience. We consider visitors an integral part of the mother’s experience.

• Review the most up-to-date COVID-19 visiting guidelines.
• Review the FAQ for having your baby during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Note: Under certain circumstances, the hospital may restrict or limit visitation privileges to ensure the health and safety of patients, staff and visitors.

Antepartum Testing & Labor Evaluation/Triage:

• One Partner in Care may accompany patient.

Labor & Delivery and Perinatal Special Care Unit (Rooms 1 - 24, 270 - 281):

• Depending on the patient’s condition, up to three Partners in Care will receive a room pass, which must be worn at all times. COVID-19 restrictions may change this. See link above. 
• The Labor & Delivery waiting area is reserved for patients awaiting evaluation or admission.
• The “Golden Hour” (first hour after birth) 
  is reserved for the newborn to bond with mother and primary Partner in Care. All other support persons will be asked to wait in the Main Lobby located on the 1^st Floor.

Mother-Baby Unit (Rooms 201 - 260):

• Visiting Hours: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. and 5 - 9 p.m., up to three visitors.
• Quiet Time: 3 - 5 p.m. Only mother and Partner in Care at this time.
• These are all private rooms with big windows and a sleeper chair for one partner to spend the night. 

Before Labor

Is it time? Your bags are packed and you’re ready to go. You’re feeling contractions. Still, true labor may not have yet begun. Sometimes, trying to tell the difference between true and false labor can be difficult, even downright discouraging, and every women’s experience is different. Be patient, and know the signs of true labor. These include:

• Strong contractions that are getting closer together. Contractions are felt “all over” rather than just in the abdomen.
• Bloody stool: Loss of mucus plug – a thick brown mucus discharge that may be mixed with blood.
• Membranes or “water” may rupture.

There are three stages of labor. The first begins with the onset of contractions and ends when the cervix is dilated to 10 centimeters. The second stage involves delivering the baby and the third stage involves delivery of the placenta and membranes, or "afterbirth."

Ready, Set, Not Yet

These last weeks of pregnancy sometimes seem to go on forever. Contractions may get stronger at times and make you wonder if this could be it. Sometimes it is frustrating to come to the hospital with these labor pains, only to be sent home with your baby still inside rather than in your arms.

True labor contractions will cause changes in your cervix. Contractions may stop or your labor may be in its early stages. This pre-labor period is helping the body get ready for the big day, but not yet. We recommend that this early pre-labor period is best spent in places you find comfortable. In the mean time, if you are finding it difficult to concentrate on anything but the birth of your baby, here are some tips to help keep you comfortable through the hours, days or weeks while you are waiting.

If labor has stopped or slowed down…

• Sleep or just rest.
• Snuggle with or be close to your partner.
• Eat or drink something.
• Go for a walk.
• Get a foot, hand, shoulder or back massage.
• Go shopping.
• Go to a movie or rent the funniest video you can find.
• Go to your favorite room in your home and slowly relax each part of your body.
• Remind yourself that you will not be pregnant forever.

During Labor

The length of labor is different for every woman. In general, a woman’s first childbirth will be her longest. After the first baby, labor is usually shorter. About half of women will have a labor that lasts at least 12 hours. Here are some ways to cope with labor as contractions get stronger:

• Go for a walk.
• Rock in a rocking chair.
• Take a shower or bath.
• Slow dance.
• Relax between contractions.
• Change positions often.
• Find someone to tell you what a good job you are doing.
• Try slow deep breathing.
• Drink water, juice or other clear liquids.
• Use lip balm on dry lips.
• Watch a movie.
• Hold hands with someone you love.
• Pray.
• Suck on a sour lollipop or popsicle.
• Cool yourself with a washcloth dipped in ice water.
• Use the bathroom often.
• For lower backache, try ice packs, heat or switch between hot and cold. Use a tennis ball, rolling pin or doorknob for counter pressure.
• Congratulate yourself for being such a patient new parent.
• Think of the baby coming down and out to meet you soon.

Miller Children’s & Women's supports both Lamaze and medicated deliveries. If you choose epidural pain relief during labor and delivery or require a cesarean section, our anesthesiologists are on staff and in the hospitals at all times to provide quality care.

For more information about the stages of labor and what to expect, sign up to attend an educational class.

What to Bring

You should have a small bag, containing the personal articles you wish to bring to the hospital packed and ready to go. These may include:

For You

• Pajama tops or short nighties (remember to buy appropriate nursing gowns if you will be breastfeeding)
• Robe and slippers (washable)
• Toiletries:
  • Toothpaste/toothbrush
  • Shampoo/conditioner
  • Soap
  • Deodorant
  • Shower cap
• Two bras (remember nursing bras, if you’re nursing — they are available at our breastfeeding supply store)
• Clothing to go home in (bring some of your early maternity clothes)

For Your Baby

• Car Seat
  • All babies who are discharged from the hospital must go home in a car seat. Miller Children’s & Women's will not let a baby leave the hospital if there is not proof of one. It also is recommended that car seat and safety belt laws are followed for any child that leaves the hospital in a car.
• One outfit to go home in
• One blanket
• One T-shirt

Where to Park

When you are ready to deliver, you will enter the hospital through the Cherese Mari Laulhere BirthCare Center entrance, which is on Columbia St. between Atlantic Ave. and Long Beach Blvd. There are a few designated parking spots where you can park while you check in.

After you have been checked in to a birthing suite, the car you arrived in will need to be moved. Have your partner in care or another family member, move your car to the main visitor parking lot on Memorial Medical Center Dr.

Once the car is parked, your partner in care will enter through the main Long Beach Medical Center lobby and take the elevators to the 2nd Floor turning right when they exit. A second check-in is not necessary, but your visitor badge is required.

Photography & Videography

We know the birth of your baby is a special time, and realize many families may want to photograph, video record or otherwise preserve this important moment. However, the care team has the right to be excluded from recordings and may not wish to be photographed. Therefore, please discuss plans/preferences for recording prior to the delivery of your child. Additionally, recordings may at times interfere with their ability to provide urgently needed care to the birth parent and baby, so the staff also reserve the right to require you to stop recording even if consent had been previously granted. Posting images of our staff on social media is not permitted. Also, recording of other patients is never allowed.

Newborn Photos

Newborn photos are available on Mom365.com. 

Birth Certificates

Birth certificate copies are not available through the hospital.

Depending on when you or your child was born, you will need to contact either:

• City of Long Beach
• Los Angeles County Recorder’s Office
• County of Orange Health Care Agency
• Orange County Clerk-Recorder

Born within one year at Miller Children’s & Women's:
City of Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services
(562) 570-4305

Born more than a year ago at Miller Children’s & Women's:
Los Angeles County Recorder’s Office
(562) 462-2137 or (562) 462-2103

California Paternity Opportunity Program

The California Paternity Opportunity Program (POP) was established in 1995 to comply with federal mandate (Title 42 United States Code (USC) 666(a)(5)(C)) that requires every state to operate a simple system to establish paternity, or a legal determination for fatherhood for unmarried biological parents. For more than 24 years, California’s POP has helped over 3.4 million parents establish legal paternity.

When parents are unmarried, there are only two ways to establish legal paternity: through the court system, or by signing a Declaration of Paternity, (CS 909). POP provides an unmarried mother and a biological father the opportunity to voluntarily establish legal paternity for their child by signing a Declaration of Paternity (CS 909). Participation in POP free of charge, and voluntarily signing a CS 909 significantly decreases the time and money required to establish legal paternity through the court process. A signed CS 909 has the same force and effect as a judgement for paternity issued by a court. Although the POP program resides under the California Department of Child Support Services, POP is not involved with the judicial method of establishing paternity, genetic testing, custody, financial or child support aspects.

When parents are unmarried, the father must complete a CS 909 or provide proof of a court order establishing paternity before adding his name to a birth certificate. The Federal Welfare Reform Act requires that a Declaration of Paternity form be signed by both parents in the presence of a witness and/or notarized before the father can be added to the birth certificate. California Health and Safety Code 102425(a)(C) states, “If the parents are not married to each other, the father’s name shall not be listed on the birth certificate unless the father and the mother sign a voluntary declaration of paternity at the hospital before the birth certificate is submitted for registration. The birth certificate may be amended to add the father’s name at a later date only if paternity for the child has been established by a judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction or by the filing of a voluntary declaration of paternity.”

Birthing hospitals are mandated to offer parents the CS 909 in the hospital, upon the birth of their child. POP’s goal is to share information on our program prior to a child’s birth, so that parents are informed prior to completing required documents at the hospital. Our goal is to have parents understand their rights, responsibilities, alternatives, and consequences when signing the form, and to have the opportunity to ask questions and educate themselves prior to completing the CS 909.

Miller Children’s & Women’s has adopted an added security measure with the innovative Infant Safety System developed by CertaScan Technologies. The Infant Safety System is a security system that captures high-resolution newborn footprints that can be used for precise identification in situations that might cause separation between parent and baby, like a natural disaster.

Like a fingerprint, a footprint never changes, but it is often difficult to capture a newborn’s fingerprints. Shortly after delivery, a nurse will bring in the scanner for a quick, 2-second scan of the baby’s feet. Once scanned, the prints are encrypted and securely storied in CertaScan Technologies’ highly protected storage cloud, as well as the baby’s medical record. Identifying medical information is stored securely and parents are given password-protected access after delivery.

Because of these strict safety protocols, CertaScan has garnered the attention and praise of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and the technology has been included as a recommendation for hospitals in its most recent Infant Security Guidelines.

Along with being a safety feature at Miller Children’s & Women’s, CertaScan allows parents to be able to pull up their baby’s footprint up to a year after their birth. They can use the copy of the footprint for various keepsakes and print it out free of charge.

This security measure is offered free of charge, and is not mandatory.

Postpartum Organizations

• Postpartum Support International (PSI)
  Warm Line English/Spanish
  (800) 944-4773
• Perinatal Mental Health Task Force Los Angeles County
• The National Women’s Health Information Center
  (800) 994-9662

Online Resources

• Association of Women's Health, Obstetric & Neonatal Nurses
• California Department of Public Health - Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health Division
• MGH Centers for Women’s Health
• Postpartum Progress
  Most Widely Read Blog on PPD, by Katherine Stone
• Postpartum Dads
  Excellent Support Resources for Dads and Families
• Regroup Therapy
  Postpartum Online Video Support Groups

Education & Support

• Nurturing the New You: Mom & Baby Support Group
  (Parent & Pre-Crawling Babies)
  Free Support Group
  Tuesdays 10 a.m. – noon
  No RSVP Required
  (562) 650-0474
• Soul Food for Your Baby
  Community organization that empowers African American families to breastfeed with their heart, body, and soul.
• Transitions in Motherhood Perinatal Mental Health, Long Beach
  Therapeutic Services: individual, couples, families and groups
  Spanish/English
  (562) 650-0474
• South Bay Center for Counseling, El Segundo
  Therapeutic Services: individual, couples, families and groups
  (310) 414-2090
• Jewish Family & Children’s Services, Long Beach
  Mental Health Services
  (562) 427-7916
• St. Joseph Hospital, Orange
  Services for Maternal Depression
  (714) 771-8101
• Orange County Health Care Agency
  Mental Health Services
  (800) 564-8448
• The Guidance Center, Long Beach
  Mental Health Services
  (562) 485-3095
• Pacific Asian Counseling Services
  (310) 337-1550
• USC Maternal Wellness Clinic
  Maternal Depression Care
  (323) 409-5370
• The National Hopeline Network
  (800) SUICIDE (784-2433)

Books on Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders

• This Isn’t What I Expected
  Karen Kleiman, MSW, and Valerie Raskin, M.D.
• Beyond the Blues: A Guide to Understanding and Treating Prenatal and Postpartum Depression
  Pec Indman, MFT, and Shoshanna Bennett, PhD
• The Mother to Mother Postpartum Depression Support Book
  Sandra Poulin
• The Postpartum Husband: Practical Solutions for Living with Postpartum Depression
  Karen Kleiman, MSW
• Life Will Never Be The Same: The Real Mom’s Postpartum Survival Guide
  Ann L. Dunnewold, PhD, and Diane G. Sanford, PhD
• Shouldn’t I Be Happy? Emotional Problems of Pregnancy and Postpartum Women
  Shaila Misri, M.D.
• Non-Pharmacologic Treatments for Depression in New Mothers
  Kathleen Kendall-Tacket, PhD, IBCLC

No matter what tools you choose to use during labor and delivery, when deciding on a birth plan or the incorporation of a doula into your birth experience, the goal is to foster a collegial, interprofessional, and collaborative relationship.

Birth plans were originally introduced as a tool to enhance communication between doctors, nurses, and patients. Over time, there was a shift and now they tend to focus more on what a woman will accept and what she will not accept in labor and the postpartum period. If you choose to utilize a birth plan, keep in mind that it should be considered a tool to help explain your perspectives and facilitate the most satisfactory birth for you, your partner, and your baby, while employing a collaborative approach with your healthcare team. For a birth plan to be as successful as possible, it is important to have it reviewed by your health care provider before your hospital admission as well as by your nurse upon admission. Even though your healthcare team works together to provide optimal care, having a birth plan cannot control all outcomes. It is important to have flexibility with the process.

Doulas can contribute positively to the birth experience of a family. Doula services can help you prepare for and support you during childbirth and the postpartum period. They are considered a vital member of your care team and recognized by The Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN) and The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) as such. AWHONN specifically supports doulas as partners in care and acknowledges their ability to provide physical, emotional, and partner support. While the use of a doula is not required, if you do choose to utilize one, it is up to the woman to provide. Miller Children's & Women's Hospital Long Beach encourages a collaborative approach between the patient, doula, and medical team. While the doulas’ role does include providing you with continuous physical, emotional, and informational support there are a few things that doulas are not expected to do:

• Speak for you
• Make decisions for you
• Project their values/goals upon you
• Interfere with medical treatments
• Perform clinical tasks such as vaginal exams, adjust monitors and/or assess fetal heart tones
• Diagnose medical conditions, offer second opinions, and/or interpret medical advice
• Discourage your choices, including the choice to use pharmacologic pain relief