Witham Maternity Center

As you prepare for your baby’s arrival, we know that you have a lot of decisions to make. At Witham — the only hospital providing maternity care in and around Boone County — we make the decisions about childbirth easier for you. 

Pregnancy brings a range of emotions and excitement. Expectations about childbirth are natural. At Witham, we strive to give you options, and we guide you in choosing the right ones for you and your baby. All our rooms are private and designed for family-centered care. We also offer a cesarean section room and a newborn nursery.

Our OB/GYN and Maternity Center OB Laborist providers share on-call duties for labor and delivery. When you arrive in our Maternity Center, a highly skilled nursing team and the OB/GYN Provider or Maternity Center OB Laborist on call will work with you to understand any expectations you may have about the process. They will do their very best to execute your plan based on your wishes and the health of you and your baby.

If our obstetricians determine you need high-risk maternity care, we will connect you with the support you and your baby need. Our obstetricians work with maternal-fetal medicine specialists — who are high-risk, or complicated, pregnancy doctors — and hospitals that provide high-risk pregnancy care.

Natural comfort measures might include:

• Lamaze relaxation, breathing, touch and massage techniques
• Hydrotherapy, which involves use of a warm shower or Jacuzzi tub
• Movement out of the labor bed while continuing to monitor the baby
• Birthing balls that you could use while sitting up and swaying or rocking

Medications might include:

• Analgesics, or pain medications
• Regional anesthetic, including local, epidural, pudendal block and spinal block
• General anesthesia, which puts you to “sleep” and is used in emergency situations

We perform newborn screening tests to check hearing, the oxygen level in the blood and for jaundice. We will also take a small sample of your baby’s blood to check for genetic, hormone and metabolic conditions.

If your baby needs advanced care, we will coordinate it for you. Our pediatricians work with neonatologists, doctors who care for critically ill babies, and hospitals that have a neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU.

You’ll also leave the hospital with all of the information you need to keep your baby safe with confidence. We’ll educate you on:

• Newborn care, such as changing diapers, bathing your baby and identifying symptoms of illness and when to call your pediatrician
• Nutrition, including breastfeeding and safe formula preparation
• Safe sleep, which includes Alone, on their Back and in a Crib (ABC)
• Soothing and calming techniques, such as swaddling and use of a swaddle sack to avoid overheating and keeping your baby feeling secure
• Car seat safety, such as how to safely use car seats
• Home safety by avoiding tobacco smoke and recognizing newborn illness

Learn more about Witham Pediatrics.

Postpartum care includes the screenings, treatments and support a mom receives during her hospital stay and the six weeks following her child’s birth. 

We offer:

• Postpartum depression screening and treatment through Witham OBGYN
• Breastfeeding support from our team of certified lactation consultants who partner with you to help you exclusively breastfeed
• Education on physical changes you may experience and self-care following birth

At Witham, we believe that information leads to empowerment and that empowerment leads to healthier lives. 

Prenatal Education 

Our Birthdays and Beyond Class is a prenatal education program that gives you the information you need to help you and your baby stay healthy and safe during labor and delivery and beyond. You’ll learn about topics including your childbirth experience, breastfeeding, newborn care and infant CPR. These FREE sessions are held quarterly on the first Saturday in February, May, August, and November. You may choose to attend all day or pick the sessions designed for your stage of pregnancy. In-Person classes are held in the North Pavilion, Entrance B in the Jack Jones Community Room. 

Register for Birthdays and Beyond Classes

Breastfeeding Support

While breastfeeding is a natural way of giving your baby nourishment, that doesn’t mean that it always comes easily to new moms or their babies. Whether you’re breastfeeding for the first time, feeding multiples or experiencing unexpected challenges, we’re here to help.

At Witham Maternity Center, our lactation team partners with you to help you achieve your goals with breastfeeding and pumping your breast milk. Through weekly support groups and private appointments, we provide support to our mothers and babies at the time of delivery and beyond.

Learn more about Breastfeeding Support at Witham

We want you to feel fully present for the birth of your child and take the time you need to recover and bond with your baby. To ease the process from check-in to taking your baby home, there are a few things to start thinking about early, before you’re ready to deliver:

Visit our Health Library to learn more about: 

• Preparing for Pregnancy
• Healthy Pregnancy Lifestyles
• Labor, Birth and Postpartum