Postpartum Hospital Basics

Your Room
Your room contains a special bed that is controlled by push buttons. Your nurse can show you how to adjust it. Television controls and nurse call light are also located on the bedside rails. When you activate the nurse call light, the nurse or unit coordinator will talk to you over the intercom system.

Cots
We are happy to provide cots for your convenience. We ask that the cot be folded and covered by 7:30 each morning so that we may provide care to you and your family in a safe environment. Cot sheets may be placed in a laundry bag when you are discharged.

Cellular Phones
Cell phones are permitted in the 5th floor waiting area and in patient rooms. Cell phones are not allowed in the hallways or other patient care areas. Please be advised that there may be times when you are asked to refrain from cell phone use because the phone may interfere with the electronic medical monitoring equipment. There is also a phone in each room for your use. Some families purchase prepaid phone cards for long distance calls.

Hand Washing
Please ask guests to make use of the antibacterial hand-washing dispenser located inside the door of your postpartum room before and after handling your baby. This is especially important for any children who may visit, as they are more susceptible than adults to the random germs that surround us all. Never let anyone handle your baby unless he or she has washed his or her hands correctly.

Smoke-Free Campus
As a leader in the health care field, Newton-Wellesley has a special responsibility to offer a clean and healthy environment. Tobacco use in and around the Hospital can pose health and safety risks for patients, employees and visitors. Consistent with our mission to create the best environment possible, Newton-Wellesley’s campus is completely tobacco and smoke free

Use of the Nursery
We believe that mothers rest and sleep more comfortably when their babies are close by them. We encourage you to keep your baby with you in your room. It is important to know that breastfeeding frequently and without long interruptions helps you establish a good milk supply and may also prevent painful engorgement. And, feeding often helps your baby to have frequent bowel movements and to reduce the likelihood of jaundice. If you are having trouble settling and comforting your baby, your nurse will be happy to help you. If there is a time when you would like us to care for your infant in our well-baby nursery, please let your nurse know.

Quiet Time on the Maternity Unit
Each afternoon between the hours of 2:00 and 4:00 pm the Maternity Unit at Newton-Wellesley Hospital will “quiet down” so you may have uninterrupted time to rest with your new baby. The only interruption during this time would be for essential patient care.

Having this Quiet Time will benefit you and your baby by decreasing your fatigue, increasing bonding time and allowing you to become familiar with your baby’s feeding cues. Please ask that your visitors delay their visit with you until after that time of day.

Professional Baby Photography
A baby photography service is available on the unit. You will be asked to sign an authorization form in order for the photographer to visit you in your room. More information regarding this service will be available to you during your hospital stay.

Taking a Photo or Video of Your Baby’s Delivery
Birth is a special occasion for you and your family and taking pictures is often a part of the occasion. We ask that you check with your health care team first to be sure it is okay to take pictures and that if Newton- Wellesley Hospital staff is in your pictures, you first obtain their consent to be photographed.

We also ask that you only take pictures or video before the birth (in labor) or after the birth (after your baby is born). Please do not take pictures during the birth itself or during any treatment that your baby may need after delivery. This request is for a couple of reasons.

First, our primary concern is to make sure you and your baby are safe. The delivery room can get very busy and sometimes the doctors, midwives, and nurses must act quickly and need room to carry out their jobs. To have someone photographing or taking video may create an unnecessary distraction

Second, if you deliver your baby by Caesarean section, it will be in the operating room. The operating room must be kept sterile and it is a very busy place. Photos and videos of the operation are not allowed. Taking pictures of your baby is allowed once he or she is safely on the warmer. Again, we ask that you check with your health care team first to be sure that it is okay to take pictures.

Lastly, we request that you respect the privacy of other patients, families and visitors and not include them in your pictures.

Fragrances
Please be mindful that newborns can be very sensitive to scents and fragrances. Please ask your guests to refrain from using scented fragrances such as colognes, perfumes, aftershave, soaps, lotions, powders, deodorants, hair sprays and other hair products while visiting you during your Hospital stay.

No Latex Balloons Allowed!
Did you know that non-inflated latex balloons or fragments could be inhaled and lead to serious injury or death? For this reason, latex balloons are not allowed in the hospital.

Mylar balloons are a safe and acceptable substitute to latex balloons. Mylar balloons can be purchased in the Gift Shop located on the first floor.