Maternity Department - Dignity Health Mercy Gilbert Medical Center - Gilbert

Midwifery is the health profession that deals with pregnancy, childbirth, and postnatal care of the mother and the newborn. The goal of the midwife is to help women have as natural a childbirth as possible and to prevent health problems during pregnancy and detect any abnormal conditions that may need more advanced medical care.

A labor, delivery, and recovery room is the type of room that some hospitals and almost all birth centers use for their care. Once you are placed in a room, this is the room that you will use for your labor, birth, and recovery.

Lactation describes the secretion of milk from the mammary glands and the period of time that a mother lactates to breastfeed her young. The process naturally occurs with all post-pregnancy female mammals.

Genetic carrier testing is a type of genetic test that can tell you whether you carry a gene for certain genetic disorders. It is done before or during pregnancy and it allows you to find out your chances of having a child with a genetic disorder.

Newborn screening refers to a set of special tests, including blood, hearing, and heart screening, done to infants, usually before they leave the hospital to check for any serious health disorders.

Prenatal diagnosis is the diagnosis of a problem with the developing baby prior to birth. There are two primary methods of prenatal testing that can provide a prenatal diagnosis. These include amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling (CVS).

Maternity online pre-registration is where you turn over certain information about you, your pregnancy, and your insurance or payment information to the hospital, prior to your labor.

Dignity Health's My Baby app is a pregnancy app that not only helps women learn about pregnancy and childbirth and track the symptoms and milestones in their pregnancy, but also allows them to personalize it to their unique needs.

A labor, delivery, and recovery room is the type of room that some hospitals and almost all birth centers use for their care. Once you are placed in a room, this is the room that you will use for your labor, birth, and recovery.

A birth center is a diagnostic and treatment center organized to provide care to low-risk patients during pregnancy, labor and delivery.

Skin-to-skin bonding is the practice where a baby is dried and laid directly on their mother's bare chest after birth, both of them covered in a warm blanket and left for at least an hour or until after the first feed.

Childbirth classes offer your partner or labor coach the chance to understand childbirth too as well as learn how to support you during labor and discuss options for handling pain.

Postpartum care refers to the first six weeks after childbirth. It is a period of adjustment and healing for mothers. During these weeks, you'll bond with your baby and have a post-delivery checkups with your doctor.