Cheryl Martin (Host): You're excited about the birth of
your baby, but you're also wondering what to expect in the delivery room. Now
is the time to learn as much as you can, and here to give you a preview is Dr.
Karishma Patel, a Kaiser Permanente physician specializing in Obstetrics and
Gynecology.

She sees patients and delivers babies at Holy Cross Health. .
This is your Best Life Podcast, Women's Health from Holy Cross Health. I'm
Cheryl Martin, Dr. Patel, so glad you're with us today.

Karishma Patel, MD: Thank you, Cheryl. I'm really
excited to be here.

Host: So one question expected mothers may have is, what
hospital staff will be in the room and what are their roles?

Karishma Patel, MD: That's a great question. Usually
when you are in the labor room, for the majority of your labor, it's going to
be your labor nurse. This nurse is going to be with you for usually the, the
majority of your labor. Her primary role is going to be there to support you,
to assess mom and baby, make sure that everyone is doing okay.

She'll help with positioning. She's going to help you get into
comfortable positions or adjust your position as necessary. And she'll also be
relaying information about your labor course and baby's course during your
labor to your physician. Outside of that, during your delivery, your physician
will also be in and out of your room. Coming in when there's times of, if there
are times of maternal or fetal distress, doing exams and being with you for
delivery. At delivery, once baby is ready to be born, you may see extra nursing
staff come into the room and they're going to be there just to provide an extra
hand to your nurse and to you at the very end, once baby's being delivered, and
sometimes you may see a newborn nurse also come in. Usually they'll come in
maybe right when baby's delivering, or within that first hour after delivery to
assess baby.

Host: Now, what monitors or IVs will the mother be
hooked up to during labor and delivery?

Karishma Patel, MD: So the first thing that will happen
pretty early in the labor course, is getting an IV. The IV is going to be used
to primarily give fluids to mom. Most pregnant women are going to be dehydrated
and could use a little bit of IV fluids. It's also going to be used to
administer antibiotics if, for instance, mom is a carrier for Group B strep.

It also can be used to administer medications. For instance, in
moms that might need an induction or augmentation of their labor, it can be
used to give medications to help with that process. After delivery, the IV will
be used to give medication to help the uterus contract and decrease bleeding.
That's going to be Pitocin typically. And also it can be used to administer any
other medications as necessary, if there are any complications during the labor
course. Sometimes the IV will be closed or held if mom prefers to not get
fluids or that's not necessary during the labor course.

 The monitors that mom
may also experience would be a fetal monitor and a contraction monitor. Those
are typically going to be hooked up onto your abdomen, and they're going to be
monitoring for baby's heart rate and mom's contraction pattern during the labor
to assess progress and fetal wellbeing.

There are some options to have a wireless monitor. Some
hospitals including Holy Cross do occasionally have that option. And that can
allow for sometimes more movement during the labor course, and allow moms to
move around.

Host: That's great. So I'm sure this is a big question
for moms. What are the options to manage labor pain?

Karishma Patel, MD: That is a good question and
definitely I'm sure on the top of mom's heads. Generally speaking, if we're
talking about non-medication options, there are things that a lot of moms will
do even that they're doing in early labor at home. So, walking, position
changing, keeping moving often can help moms manage labor pain. Things such as
a, a labor ball which allows women to sort of rock, and change position in
labor can help. Medication-wise, sometimes in early labor, women will opt to
choose for IV pain medication. And these are typically IV narcotics that can
help take the edge off of the pain and allow mom to get some relaxation in. The
other sort of big option is going to be the epidural.

And our anesthesiology colleagues are typically going to be
administering an epidural. The epidurals are great now. You know, a lot of
times moms get concerned that you, if you get the epidural too early in labor,
it might not manage pain sufficiently, but most epidurals are now given with a
catheter that allows moms to self administer medication as needed during their
labor course.

So just because they get the epidural, it doesn't mean they
are, it's going to run out on them and epidurals can often last straight
through delivery and the very end of labor. So that's fantastic for moms.

Host: Yes. Very comforting. So what role can a partner
play in the delivery room?

Karishma Patel, MD: A partner is really going to be
primarily there to be present supporting mom emotionally and physically. I'm
sure no mom is going to say no to a foot massage. You know, they can be very
helpful in that way. But you know, their job is to be there, to be present with
mom and you know, help her and support her through the process.

During the active delivery and pushing, a partner can be really
involved. They can be holding mom's legs. They can get to cut the umbilical
cord in the majority of situations. And of course, they're very importantly
responsible for taking pictures.

Host: Are other family members allowed in delivery?

Karishma Patel, MD: That really is up to the mom and the
partner. Currently, each hospital's going to have a different policy. But right
now, other family members are allowed during labor and delivery. The policies
can vary depending on the season. For instance, during flu season, the policies
can be a little bit more restrictive for the safety of patients, and so it's better
to always check with your labor nurse once admitted what that current policy
is.

Host: Okay. Now, after the baby is born, what care does
the newborn receive while in the delivery room?

Karishma Patel, MD: Within the first hour of life, a
newborn nurse is going to come assess baby. So, generally speaking, all babies
are going to go skin to skin on mom, and try and they can even breastfeed in
that first hour of life with mom. Once the newborn nurse comes in, she's going
to be taking vitals on the baby.

In the beginning, it's pretty frequent every 30 minutes in the
first couple hours of life. And they'll also be talking to mom and partner,
family about neonatal medications such as vitamin K to help prevent any
bleeding issues and antibiotic ointment to the eyes to help prevent any
infection issues.

And outside of that, that's going to be the first sort of early
care that the babies receive. And we've generally moved to moving things like
the first bath a little bit later in the newborn life so that they have time to
bond with mom.

Host: That's great. Doctor, anything else mothers should
know that you want to share?

Karishma Patel, MD: I think that it's really good to
talk to your doctor, you know, in the third trimester about these type of
questions that you might have. The hospitalization for labor and deliver is
often the first time that women are in a hospital for any major medical care
and just being in the hospital room can be overwhelming with the buzzing and
the noises and the overhead announcements.

So just having some information like this so you can know what
is going on and what might be happening as and why it might be happening can
help you feel really a lot more comfortable once you get there. So, you know,
just remember that everyone really is there for you and baby and, you know, you
are their focus. And, that's the main thing.

Host: Well said. Dr. Karishma Patel, thanks so much for
answering questions about what to expect in the delivery room. I'm certain
you've put some mothers at ease today.

Karishma Patel, MD: I hope so. Thank you, Cheryl, for
taking the time to talk to me. I really appreciate it.

Host: You're welcome. For more information, visit
holycross health.org/maternity. If you found this podcast helpful, please share
it on your social channels, and thanks for listening to Your Best Life Podcast,
Women's Health from Holy Cross Health.