Congratulations! You're having a baby. And along with having a baby comes the need to make a lot of important decisions, like where to give birth. That's where we fit into the picture. I'm Heather Mobach, a registered nurse here in the birthing unit at St. Joseph's in the Women's and Infants Program. Whether you're here delivering for the very first time, or welcoming a second or subsequent baby, you will find a very warm and supportive birthing environment here at St. Joseph's Healthcare Hamilton, or as the families who have delivered here prefer to call us, St. Joe's.

Today I'm going to take you on a quick tour of our hospital, introduce you to the St. Joe's family so that you'll know what to expect when you arrive to have your baby. That way our unit will be familiar to you, and you'll find it easier to relax and let your body do what it was designed to do: give birth. During this tour, you'll have the opportunity to meet a number of our caring and committed healthcare team members who work in our program.

You'll also have the opportunity to visit different areas, such as the birthing unit, where you will be laboring and giving birth to your baby. The mother and baby unit, where you and your baby will spend time after the birth before heading home. And the special care nursery, where babies who are born early or who need more specialized care are looked after.

So, let's get started! Julie Pace is the clinical educator for the Women's and Infants program. St. Joseph's has been caring for the community for over 120 years. We are a teaching organization, which means we provide education for all types of medical learners, that being nurses, physicians, midwifery, pharmacy, and many other healthcare providers within our program.

Our reputation when it comes to caring for mothers and babies is second to none. In 2003, St. Joseph's Healthcare earned the World Health Organization baby-friendly designation, which means we support, promote, and protect breastfeeding practices, and that's something that we're really proud of here. Our commitment to mothers and babies continues day after day and year after year.

Each day, 9 or 10 babies are born at our hospital. That amounts to 3,500 new St. Joe's babies each year. At St. Joe's, it's our goal to give each and every newborn in his or her family our personal and undivided attention. This kind of care doesn't happen by accident. It starts with our St. Joe's family, the men and women who were chosen for their empathy and compassion, as well as their proven expertise in their chosen field.

The experience of having a baby is something that is amazingly special. And regardless of what that experience is for you, it's your own personal journey and your family's personal journey. So we like to work with you and make it the best possible experience. What happens when you arrive on the birthing unit depends on you.

But more specifically, what's going on with you and your baby? When mums arrive here, they could be at any stage of labour. So knowing how to get into the building and into our women's and infants program is important. There's two ways to get into the building. One is if you park in the visitors parking in Fontbonne, is to walk across the tunnel.

And at the very end of the tunnel, the set of elevators that you see are in the dowling wing. And you will take the elevators to the second floor. If you're further along in your labour process and need to get to the birthing unit as quickly as possible, the best way to get here is to park at the parking lot that's just off St. Joseph's Drive.

You will enter the building, turn right, and you will see the doors to the birthing unit. When you arrive at the birthing unit, you will see a phone outside the door. Pick up the phone and wait for someone to tell you to push the door open. And don't forget to wash your hands immediately upon entering the birthing unit.

If you are already in active labour, or you are here to have your labour induced, you will be taken to one of our 11 birthing rooms right away. You'll remain in the birthing room while you labour, give birth to your baby, and get to know your newborn. If you think you're in labour, but you're not sure, you'll be assessed by a member of our team.

Don't be embarrassed if you arrive at St. Joe's convinced you're in labour, only to find out that it's not the real thing. Sometimes, it's really hard to tell. Whether you are a patient of a family doctor, a midwife, or an obstetrician, you have access to all of the expertise available from our entire team of birthing specialists.

We believe we offer mothers the best of both worlds. We offer the ability to give birth in a home-like setting, but with all of the technology when it's required. I've been practising here for over 15 years, and it is a really friendly, homey environment for women who are experiencing a low risk labour and birth. Regardless of whether women have a midwife taking care of them, a family physician, or an obstetrician, they can rest assured that they'll be well taken care of and that we work together as a team.

We're very fortunate that we have a multi-disciplinary approach to care. There will be a modest degree of anxiety that will always be there until you hold your baby in your hands, but we want the mother to feel comfortable when they come here and open to discussions when they have any questions. We don't want them to hold it back.

We want them to ask those questions. It didn't affect all. We want them to go home happy with a healthy baby. You rub backwards and forwards. You just rub your back. And then rub your shoulders. There you go. Most women will manage most labour pain with relatively simple interventions. And, of course, if there's a need for it, they absolutely have access to pharmacological sorts of pain medication.

Each person's tolerance to pain is different. And because of that, we have a range of available options for pain control. The one that I'm most involved in is epidural analgesia or epidural pain relief during labour. Probably 60 to 70 percent of the women who give birth here at St. Joseph's will have an epidural during their labour.

Between 20 and 30 percent will have a cesarean delivery. Women who may have to deliver by cesarean should feel that when they come to the St. Joseph's birthing unit, they have a strong team looking after them, that we are ready 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. And we are dedicated to providing a safe experience for them.

Nursing is one part art and one part science. You'll have plenty of opportunity to witness both during your time here at St. Joe's. Being part of that moment in people's lives is an honour because you get to know someone very intimately in a short period of time. For me as a nurse, that's my favourite part, getting to know people in their best and their worst and helping them through that difficult experience and making it something beautiful.

I am Louise Guthrow and I am a lactation consultant and registered nurse here at St. Joe's. The Banna Clinic here is to support you with your breastfeeding goals. Breastfeeding is normal but not always natural to every mother. We are here every day of the year and you're welcome to call and book an appointment. If you go home and you have any concerns whatsoever, we see mums and babies up to 6 weeks post-discharge.

Giving birth is exhilarating. It's also exhausting. After spending some time bonding with your baby, you'll be moved to our mom and baby unit. This is where you'll spend 24 to 48 hours before being discharged home. When new parents come in, they tend to be anxious about a lot of things as far as feeding the babies go, as far as bathing the babies go, holding the baby, changing the baby's diaper.

So we try to make them as comfortable as we can because it is a very big transition period for them. For a supplementary cost, new moms can experience the coziness and privacy of one of our Celebration of Life suites. These suites are family-centred, hotel-like rooms that allow new moms to experience all the comforts of home while benefiting from the exceptional care St. Joseph's is known for.

Another important part of St. Joe's holistic approach is the special care unit. This is where babies who have special needs are given the extra care they require. If you deliver a baby here and unexpectedly your baby is born premature, as young as 32 weeks gestational age, or if your baby is unexpectedly sick, we can look after that baby here in the special care nursery.

I've always loved to help babies who are not well when they're first born or who are born premature to recover from that, support the families to look after them, and I'm absolutely delighted when they get to go home healthy. Going home with your newborn is exciting. However, it can be a little bit overwhelming, especially if you haven't had a lot of experience dealing with newborns.

At St. Joe's, we help to ease the transition from hospital to home. During your stay, we teach you how to care for your newborn. You will have the opportunity to meet with a public health nurse who will help you tap into programs and services in the community, and to answer any questions that arise. As a public health nurse here at St. Joe's, we work in collaboration with the nurse on the floor, as well as the lactation consultants to prepare mom and family to go home and feel confident and comfortable, to understand what's normal, not normal, who they can call, and what they can access for supports in the community.

I love working at the Women's and Infants Unit here at St. Joe's because everybody's wonderful. The health care staff all interact really well. There's so much support, so there's lactation specialists, great nursing staff, great social workers, great physicians, residents, and we're all committed to being better health care professionals and really just optimizing the level of care that we offer to patients.

Everybody here is invested in making this the best experience for you. We believe in our mission. We believe in the dignity of the experience, and it's a privilege to be part of that as well. Giving birth is an amazing event in your life. It's also an amazing event in our lives. We never stop celebrating the miracle of each new baby, each new addition to the family that is St. Joe's. Welcome to the family.