Birthing

At Northern Light Maine Coast Hospital, you will find caring, compassionate, and highly skilled staff to help guide and support you with your birthing experience.
 

In January 2023, we opened the brand new, spacious, family-focused Dixon Family Birthing Center to provide parents with the best possible environment for welcoming a newborn. The new Birthing Center includes new spacious, comfortable combined labor, delivery, and recovery suites with plenty of space for a support person to stay overnight.

Our midwives, doctors, and nurses are available and equipped to respond to every development with the medical expertise to make certain you and your baby are safe. 

Our nurses and providers recognize and respect each family's differing needs and we go out of our way to make your baby's birth a special and memorable event.

Click here to view the Pregnancy and Birthing Guide

 

  • Prenatal Care available at both Blue Hill and Maine Coast Hospitals

  • Caring, experienced doctors and nurses

  • Personalized Birth Plan

  • Pre-delivery tour available with a Registered Nurse

  • Private patient rooms for labor delivery and recovery
  • 24/7 Midwifery coverage

  • Room for Dad, or support person, to sleep over

  • Locked unit for newborn and family security

  • Family centered C-section options

  • Multiple pain management options for labor (including Epidurals and Nitrous)

  • Supportive of natural childbirth

  • Newborn screenings

  • Breastfeeding support from our Certified Lactation Consultant and Counselors

  • Breastfeeding Support Group

  • Moms Support Group

  • Childbirth Education Classes

  • Bedside internet access

  • VBAC-Vaginal birth after Caesarean

  • Non-Stress Testing

  • Telemetry (wireless) option for fetal heart rate monitoring

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We want you to feel at home whenever you are with us. Please bring anything that will make you and your family comfortable during your stay. Know that we can provide basic toiletries for you and we have diapers and wipes for your baby.

Our private rooms are designed to make you feel as comfortable as possible. Each room includes accommodations for your spouse, partner, or support person to sleep, a TV, private bathroom, shower, and a telephone. We have free internet access available throughout the hospital to stay in touch with loved ones near and far.

Your family and friends are welcome to visit you during your hospital stay. However, we encourage a quite time from 1 to 3 PM in the afternoon for our mothers and babies to rest.

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It is up to you how much, or how little, medication you receive during your labor. Our nurses are here to support you whether you desire a natural delivery or wish to have pain medication during your labor. Your nurses will provide coaching and support as you progress through each stage of labor. For comfort you can walk around the unit, relax in the shower, or rest on a birthing ball.

Should you desire pain medication during labor, we have several options. Your provider can order IV pain medication, nitrous oxide (laughing gas), an intrathecal, or an Epidural.

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*Please note that we are currently offering online ZOOM childbirth classes.  Please contact us for more information. 

It’s normal to have questions about your pregnancy, labor and delivery, and the postpartum period. We would be happy to have you join us for one of our one-day Childbirth Class to help answer your questions. The classes are taught by the NLMCH labor and delivery nurses giving you the most up to date information and options for your own labor and delivery.
Some of the topics we will discuss include:

  • Understanding the third trimester of pregnancy
  • Understanding labor, including when to call the hospital
  • Ways to manage discomfort during labor
  • How your spouse, partner, or support person can help
  • Medical interventions, including family centered C-sections
  • Postpartum care for mom
  • Newborn care

As we cover the various topics, we will watch a couple of brief videos, discuss the many options to personalize your experience in the hospital setting, and try some “hands on” exercises to better understand labor, delivery, and the postpartum period.

The class is free and is open to any expectant parents, regardless of where you plan to deliver. Please call 664-5464 to register for a class.

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There are many benefits of breastfeeding for both babies and mothers. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, through the first year, for as long as you and your baby desire. We have several Certified Lactation Counselors and a Lactation Consultant at Maine Coast who look forward to working one-on-one with you to meet your breastfeeding goals. We also recognize that breastfeeding is not right for every family, and we are committed to supporting your individual feeding choices. Formula is provided for those families who chose not to breastfeed.

If you’d like to learn more about breastfeeding, we offer a Breastfeeding Class which is ideal for first-time mothers or mothers who have had difficulties breastfeeding in the past. The best time to take this class is about a month or two prior to your estimated due date.

We also offer a Nursing Mom’s group designed with new mothers in mind, who are new to breastfeeding and have a nursing baby under one year old.

For more information, please see our Classes and Groups page or call 664-5464 to speak with one of our nurses.

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All classes are offered via Zoom at this time. Please call for more information. 

Breastfeeding Class – This class is ideal for first-time mothers or mothers who have had difficulties breastfeeding in the past. The best time to take this class is about a month or two prior to your estimated due date.  Please call 664-5464 to register.

Nursing Moms Group – This group is designed with new mothers in mind, who are new to breastfeeding and have a nursing baby under one year old. Please call 664-5464 for more information.

Moms Support Group – Our local WIC office has partnered with us to offer a support group for moms. This group is open to all mothers, both pregnant and postpartum. It’s a great opportunity to connect with moms in the area and share the struggles and successes of motherhood. Babies-in-arms are welcome, but the space is not suitable for older children. The group is facilitated by the WIC Breastfeeding Coordinator who is also a Certified Lactation Counselor. The class is the 4th Saturday of every month, from 2-3:30 PM, in the Northern Light Women Care Office, 50 Union Street, Suite 3200, Ellsworth.

For more information on the Moms Support Group, please call the Birthing Center at 664-5464.

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