Spirit Lake Iowa’s Birth Center for Labor and Delivery Services

Delivering Life’s Greatest Gift

A new baby truly is life’s greatest gift: The anticipation over nine months, the excitement when your little one arrives, and the joy as the bond between you and baby grows are to be cherished. We at Lakes Regional Healthcare are honored to be a part of your greatest gift and do our best to make these experiences that much more special. 

As one of our expectant moms, you enjoy comprehensive, personalized prenatal care from physicians that are as excited about your new addition as you. Once it’s time for your baby to arrive, you can experience the entire labor, delivery, and recovery process here in comfortable luxurious, medically-advanced suites. Special amenities such as whirlpool tubs, private family spaces, and natural healing elements, combined with new technologies to quickly and safely manage emergency situations and provide enhanced newborn security, offer the best in comfort and technology. Altogether, it’s no wonder why Lakes Regional Healthcare’s Birth Center is the premier place to have a baby in northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota. 

Birth Center for Labor and Delivery

Labor and delivery can be exciting–and very stressful. On the one hand, you’re about to meet a brand new addition to your family! But you’re also likely to have concerns about your health, the discomfort you’re likely to experience, and more. At Lakes Regional Healthcare’s Birth Center, our physicians and staff take special joy in helping you make the birthing process as safe, comfortable, and joyful as possible.

With comfortable accommodations, a space for dads-to-be, and world-class technology, Lakes Regional Healthcare’s Birth Center is the premier choice for Iowa Great Lakes region parents-to-be. It’s the perfect place to say hello to your baby for the first time!

What are the Benefits of the Birth Center?

Many first-time parents aren’t exactly sure what to expect from labor and delivery. That’s understandable! Your care team from Lakes Regional Healthcare is there to make sure you’re receiving access to the health care services you need throughout your pregnancy, including labor and delivery. 

Pre-Delivery Benefits

Childbirth and breastfeeding education classes are offered by Lakes Regional Healthcare experts throughout the year. These classes help you understand what to expect during the birthing process, so you can be more confident with your preferences and needs. 

Benefits During Labor and Delivery

During the delivery process, care from LRH’s Birth Center offers the following benefits:

• Medication and epidurals: IV medication and epidurals are available to help you manage pain and discomfort, so you can stay as comfortable as possible throughout labor and delivery.

• Natural pain management: In some cases, natural pain management options are also available, depending on the mother’s needs, preferences, and medical history.

• A dedicated nurse: During your stay at the Birth Center, you’ll have a dedicated nurse that stays with you the entire time. This nurse will monitor your progress and communicate your needs to the physician.

• State of the art fetal monitoring: Cordless monitoring gives the mother-to-be freedom of movement throughout the unit while consistently monitoring the fetal heart rate.

• • Delayed cord clamping: Once the baby is born, a technique called delayed cord clamping can increase hemoglobin levels and iron stores. This can lead to a favorable impact on developmental outcomes.

• Dedicated facilities: A specially-designed nursery is available onsite for deliveries in which newborns require additional care.

Read more about what your pregnancy and birth experience could look like at LRH here!

Post-Birth Benefits

Once your baby is born, the Birth Center continues to offer substantial benefits to new parents. Some of the most common benefits include the following:

• • Rooming In: When possible, parents and their baby will be allowed to stay in the same room. This helps with facilitating feeding and production of breastmilk. Typically, rooming in also gives parents a little peace of mind before heading home with the new addition to their family.
  • Complimentary candlelight dinner for new parents. 
  • Complimentary gift bag, tailored to care for Mom and Baby.

• Hand-knitted baby hat from Lakes Regional Healthcare volunteers

• Breastfeeding and bottle feeding support: Certified lactation consultants work with new parents to help identify feeding cues, work on positioning, seeing patterns, and more. This education can help you know when your baby is hungry–or when they’re getting enough!
• Baby photo will be displayed in the Birth Center and on our Facebook page!

Post Birth Screenings

Once your baby is born, the care team from Lakes Regional Healthcare will perform several screenings to ensure the long-term health of the new addition to your family. These screenings include:

• Critical Congenital Heart Disease (CCHD) Testing: A CCHD screening is a simple, painless test that is performed at 24 hours of age. This diagnostic test measures how much oxygen is in the baby’s blood and the baby’s pulse rate, letting your provider know about possible heart defects.
• Bilirubin Test (jaundice testing) and interventions: Jaundice is a yellow coloring of eyes and skin caused by a buildup of bilirubin in the baby’s blood and skin. If your baby is showing any of these symptoms, a simple blood test will be performed by your provider. Treatment, known as phototherapy, involves placing your baby under special lights to resolve symptoms.
• Metabolic screen: When your baby is 24 hours of age, your provider will collect a blood sample to screen for developmental, genetic, and metabolic disorders. 

What to Expect When You Get to Your Room

When you come to the Birth Center, you’re there for a purpose: you’re ready to have your baby! But it’s impossible to tell how long labor will take. The average hospital stay for childbirth is between 24 hours and four days. Even after your baby is born, there’s a lot of important bonding that happens in those first 24 hours! That’s why at Lakes Regional Healthcare, rooms include

• Free Wi-Fi: Stay in touch with family or watch Netflix while you wait.
• Supportive rockers and tubs/whirlpool/showers, so it’s easy to change positions and stay comfortable throughout your stay.
• Complimentary massages and aromatherapy to ease stress and sore muscles.
• Pull-out-bed available for fathers, who are included throughout the entire stay.

Physicians at the Birth Center–Ready to Deliver Care!

The physicians at Lakes Regional Healthcare’s Birth Center are honored to help you welcome your new addition to the world!

• Zachary Borus, MD, MPH 
• Craig Cunningham, MD 
• Averill Fuhs, DO
• Mara Groom, DO 
• Michael Kalkhoff, MD
• Andrew Meuting, DO
• Whitney Nelson, DO
• Steven Vander Leest, DO 

Welcome Your Baby at Our Birth Center

Lakes Regional Healthcare’s Birth Center has everything you will need to welcome the newest addition to your family. Labor and delivery can be scary and stressful. But when you’re working with the Lakes Regional Healthcare Birth Center care team, you’ll know what to expect, how you can safeguard your health, and how to work towards positive outcomes. 

We look forward to helping you say hello to your brand new baby. Contact us today to learn more about how you can welcome your newborn to the world!