Alleviating the Anxiety with Care

As the only dedicated women’s hospital in Fort Worth, Andrews Women’s Hospital at Baylor Scott & White is the premier advanced-care facility for women and children in Tarrant County, delivering over 6,000 babies annually.

With a 63-bed neonatal intensive care unit and extensive pre and post-natal services, the Level IV (the highest designation there is) maternal care center has set the standard for mother and child care before, during, and after delivery. In fact, this year, Andrews Women’s Hospital was voted the best place to have a baby in Tarrant County.

There is a lot that goes into achieving such a high level of success, but it largely boils down to “customer” satisfaction. Anyone who has had a baby knows you don’t just stroll up to the hospital, deliver your baby, and head home. There’s much more to it than that. It’s a time of excitement and anxiety, joy and fear of the unknown. The difference between a good experience and a bad one is often in the details attended to by the facility where you deliver. And one of the biggest details that can make all the difference is in education and outreach.

Photo courtesy of BS&W

A hospital that places a huge importance on educating new mothers, fathers, grandparents and other caretakers has an advantage over those that don’t. This is one of the many areas in which Andrews Women’s Hospital excels, not only beyond other facilities, but beyond their own patients’ expectations. With a comprehensive curriculum of online and in-person classes, Andrews Women’s Hospital has set the bar very high indeed when it comes to educating their patients and patients’ families.

They realize through education much of the mystery of having and nurturing a baby can be alleviated, thus rendering their patients more confident as they begin the experience of childbirth and parenthood. As Program Director and Community Care Coordinator, Catherine Smith says, “We want new mothers and fathers to be excited about and feel comfortable with the process of having a new baby, and we find we are better able to achieve those goals by offering them powerful maternity tools and pre-natal education classes, as well as offerings after the baby arrives.”

Photo courtesy of BS&W

To that end, classes offered include childbirth, breastfeeding, infant CPR, newborn care, natural childbirth, Cesarean birth, car seat education and many, many more. There are specific classes for fathers, grandparents, and even older siblings to learn about their new brother or sister, and new classes are being added to the catalog regularly. Once your in-patient experience is over, Andrews Women’s Hospital ensures that you’re not being discharged without a lifeline. They provide a weekly breastfeeding support group, a private Facebook group called “Rockin’ Mommas”, and within their app they have follow-up navigation to make sure you’re healing mentally and physically after welcoming our new bundle. Once your baby grows up, on-site childcare and swim lessons are available.

People have a natural fear of the unknown. It is through education and experience we come to understand that which we do not know and thereby remove the fear of it. Few things in life are as unknown to new parents as having a new baby. Andrews Women’s Hospital’s educational programs alleviate the natural anxiety all new parents feel by educating them and giving them the tools they need to confidently and successfully have and raise a newborn child.

Photo courtesy of BS&W

Safety and clinical expertise are always the primary focus at Andrews Women’s Hospital, but making sure you feel supported and secure in a relaxing atmosphere with numerous amenities is just as important. With an onsite Starbucks® with extended hours for late night coffee runs, to recently renovated rooms based on community feedback that feature soft lighting, additional family space, and opportunities for low impact birth solutions for those that qualify, Andrews Women’s Hospital strives to make the entire childbirth process as comfortable as possible. You can customize your entire experience with the food you choose, the optional upgrade package, and a birth plan personalized to fit your ideal birth experience.

You can find more information about the facility and available classes by visiting the Andrews Women’s Hospital Labor and Delivery page or by downloading the BSW Health app at my.bswhealth.com.