Andrews Women’s Hospital at Baylor Scott & White All Saints Really Delivers

There are few events that are more joyful and yet more full of questions than pregnancy. Add in a global pandemic, and you’ve got the recipe for nine months of uncertainty.

Photo courtesy of Baylor Scott & White

Andrews Women’s Hospital at Baylor Scott & White All Saints stands ready to answer your questions and walk with you through your pregnancy. Whether you want a natural childbirth with a doula or an epidural with an OB/GYN, Andrews Women’s Hospital is the place to deliver!

I talked with Dr. Kathleen Cammack, an OB/GYN on the medical staff at Baylor Scott & White, about what you can expect from your experience at Andrews Women’s Hospital.

Photo courtesy of Kathleen Cammack

When preparing for pregnancy, Dr. Cammack offers these hints. Do your research! Choosing a physician and a hospital are the first steps in making sure your delivery goes as smoothly as possible. Some good questions to ask are:

• Do you care about your physician’s gender?
• Do you know who is in a call group with them in case you go into labor when your physician is off?
• Is the office and the hospital near your home?
• Is your physician in-network for your insurance?

Choosing a hospital used to involve a tour of the birthing center. To ensure your safety, you can now tour Andrews Women’s Hospital virtually, as well as taking online birthing classes.

I asked Dr. Cammack to address some of the misconceptions surrounding hospital births. She replied, “As an obstetrician, I will always recommend a hospital birth. The biggest reason to deliver in a hospital is to be prepared for the unknown and to keep you and your baby safe.” She went on to say that while her main goal is making sure the mother and child are safe, she wants to make sure that the mother’s birth plan is respected and that the birth of her child is one of the best days of her life.

“Birth plan?” I hear you ask. “What’s a birth plan?” Simply put, a birth plan is a list of things that the mother would like to have respected during delivery. It can be long and involved or short and sweet. If you have a birth plan, Dr. Cammack recommends talking through it with your physician so that you can tailor it to your desires, while making sure that you and your baby are safe.

There is a misconception that a hospital birth will automatically end in a cesarian section. Dr. Cammack assured me that is not the case. “There are times that intervention is necessary to keep babies and moms safe,” she said, but she stressed that she has never done a cesarian section when it wasn’t absolutely necessary.

When asked about having a “natural” birth, Dr. Cammack replied, “Unmedicated births are welcome… We have wireless monitoring so the mom doesn’t feel tied to the bed, and if the baby looks good, intermittent monitoring can also be done. Doulas… are typically welcome, though with COVID, this… is limited at this time.”

If necessary, Baylor Scott & White All Saints has a top notch neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). While the myth is that children’s hospitals’ NICUs are the best, that simply isn’t true. Dr. Cammack has nothing but praise for the NICU. “Our NICU at Baylor is fabulous. The providers, nurses, and level of care that they deliver to these babies are all top notch… Baylor balances both of their patients – the mom and the baby – in a way that supports both of their needs best.”

Photo courtesy of Baylor Scott & White

Having a baby during the coronavirus pandemic is not the same as it once was. Keep in mind that regulations are constantly changing, so your physician’s office and hospital requirements must change, as well. While you might not be able to have your family with you for every visit, but most physicians are happy to allow you to FaceTime or conference call so that everyone’s questions can be addressed. In addition, loved ones are typically allowed to come to essential visits, like ultrasound appointments.

In the hospital, COVID regulations have changed labor and delivery a little. Mothers are tested for COVID, either at the time she goes into labor or, if she’s scheduled for an induction or a cesarian section, two days prior to admission. Laboring mothers are allowed to have one guest stay with them throughout their stay. Dr. Cammack sees this as a positive. “… family members and friends come up at all hours to meet and see the new addition, and moms can be left feeling exhausted from delivering and trying to entertain… this time of distancing [can be used] as an opportunity to get to know your baby.” For families and friends, the hospital’s Magnolia Boutique offers “care packages” you can send to a new mother without coming into the hospital.

Yes, the coronavirus pandemic has changed the way pregnancy, labor, and delivery are managed, but Baylor Scott & White and its physicians want to make sure you have the safest, most comfortable, most supported experience possible. From prenatal care through labor and delivery to post-natal support, Baylor Scott & White will walk with you and your baby every step of the way!

If you had your baby at Baylor Scott & White All Saints, please share how they made your experience a safe, healthy, and happy one by voting for them in the annual DFW Child Best for Families: Moms and Babies. Click here to vote. Voting continues through October 26!