Welcome your baby to the world at Wilcox.
While many of our island's families have begun here at Wilcox Health, each birth is a unique experience for every family. During this special event, the staff of the Women and Infants' Health Unit at Wilcox Memorial Hospital supports the family through childbirth education, lactation consultation, labor management and newborn care.
Planning Your Pregnancy
At Wilcox Memorial Hospital, together with your physician or midwife, you will develop an ideal birth plan based on your particular wishes. You decide if you want to use our epidural services and whether you have a strong preference for a physician-assisted delivery versus a certified nurse midwife-assisted delivery.
Delivery and Recovery at Wilcox Memorial Hospital
Labor, delivery and recovery take place in one comfortable suite. Our private labor suites feature a birthing bed, television and VCR, stereo, and your own private bathroom with shower. You can even relax in one of the unit's whirlpool tubs. Each suite has the latest birthing equipment needed — even for high-risk situations — with a surgical suite nearby for Cesarean birth. To enrich your experience, you will have a labor nurse to care for you throughout labor and delivery. Your infant will be banded with an ID band that matches yours immediately after delivery, along with recording the baby's footprints and your fingerprint for identification purposes. And afterwards, our dedicated professionals will provide skillful nursing care, blended with helpful suggestions, to get your relationship with your new baby off to a great start.
After delivery, you will stay in a private post-partum room with your baby. The Women's and Infants' Health Unit emphasizes care for the woman and the infant as a couplet. Rooming-in helps prepare you for your mothering role. By having your baby stay in your room, you will become familiar with your baby's personal rhythms and bond through touching and cuddling. You will also enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing your new loved one is close at hand.
New mothers may receive a 24-hour follow-up call from a nurse to answer questions and provide support. A lactation consultant is available for those mothers who opt to breastfeed their baby and may require additional assistance.
Support for High-Risk Pregnancies
Wilcox Memorial Hospital is part of a four-island telemedicine network that links Kauai women at risk for high-risk pregnancies to Kapi'olani's medical facility in Honolulu. These women are now able to easily receive the highly specialized diagnostic care that they and their unborn babies require. This innovative system is designed to allow Kapi'olani's maternal-fetal medicine specialists to interact in real time across distance with the patient, her physician and an ultrasound technician. The newly acquired ultrasound machine at WMH has been adapted for tele-transmission and is connected through ISDN lines to Kapi'olani's highly sophisticated network. The Fetal Diagnostic Center at Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women and Children is the first obstetrical clinic in Hawaii to provide fully integrated, comprehensive services for high-risk pregnant women. Wilcox Memorial Hospital is proud to be a part of this innovative telemedicine healthcare network.
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