Collins Birthing Center: A Better Birth Experience

Just months before the start of the pandemic, Beaufort Memorial completed a $6 million renovation of its birthing center, offering expectant mothers a spacious, spa-like setting to give birth.

Read More: Special Delivery

Renovations With an Eye on Comfort and Care

“The rooms are warm and inviting with better accommodations for the spouse or primary support person,” says Birthing Center Director Tiffany Washington. “At the same time, we’ve upgraded our labor and delivery room technology, including abdominal monitors that allow patients to be more mobile during the labor experience.”

Beaufort Memorial also invested in upgraded Panda^TM Warmers that provide doctors and nursing staff with the ability to evaluate and treat babies needing extra care at the mother’s bedside rather than whisking them away to the neonatal unit.

“I’ve worked in a lot of hospitals in South Carolina and have found that Beaufort Memorial, as a nonprofit community hospital, has a different mindset with a slightly different set of priorities,” says Dr. Gregory Miller, FACOG, chief of obstetrics at Beaufort Memorial. “There's such an interconnection with the community. We appreciate the support we receive from the community and support the community back.”

Along with improvements to the labor and delivery facilities, major renovations were made to the center's 12 private postpartum rooms. Each room now features a pleasing mural of a Lowcountry scene, remodeled bathrooms and adjustable bedside lighting.

One of the most innovative additions made to the postpartum rooms and eight labor and delivery suites is a multi-purpose furniture system that can be transformed from a couch to a bed to a combination rocker and glider, or seats that face each other with a table between them for intimate dining. The furniture also features charging stations for phones and laptops.

Virtual Tour: Get a Look Inside the Collins Birthing Center

Help On Call

Beaufort Memorial’s maternity services have been expanded and now include free classes for parents-to-be, bedside prescription delivery, and a 24/7 Warm Line offering advice from birthing center nurses on breastfeeding, newborn care and postpartum issues.

But the birthing center’s biggest asset — the health care professionals who care for mother and baby — is anything but new. Along with eight board-certified OBGYNs and three onsite pediatric hospitalists, the staff includes a team of nurses on every shift boasting more than 100 years of obstetrical experience.

“There’s a tremendous amount of trust and communication between us that only comes with longevity and experience,” says Dr. Miller, who joined the Beaufort Memorial medical staff eight years ago. “I know every single one of these nurses, and I trust them implicitly.”

For Tiffany Heath, RN, the mutual trust and camaraderie shared by the staff is one of the reasons she has worked in Beaufort Memorial’s labor and delivery unit for 15 of her 17 years as a nurse.

“Women can feel safe knowing they are going to receive exceptional patient care,” Heath says. “You’re in good hands when you come here.”

As a Level II nursery, Beaufort Memorial is able to care for babies born as early as 32 weeks. In addition, in-house anesthesia and pediatric services are available 24/7 along with respiratory and physical therapists as needed.

“With three pediatric hospitalists now on staff, there is always someone here to take care of a baby if anything goes wrong,” says Amy Geier, a highly experienced maternity nurse certified in low-risk, neo-natal nursing. “If we need an X-ray, we can have someone here in seconds. From pharmacists to lab technicians, we have the resources to take care of issues with mom and baby.”

After 15 years working in Beaufort Memorial’s labor and delivery, nursery and postpartum units, Geier has come to appreciate the extraordinary teamwork among the staff.

“Everyone pitches in, from the doctors to the CNAs (certified nurse assistants),” Geier says. “We truly love our jobs bringing babies into the world.”

Continuing a Legacy

Since the first birth more than 75 years ago, thousands of babies have entered the world at Beaufort Memorial, where Lowcountry mothers have access to comprehensive prenatal and postpartum care close to home. In 1994, the department was renamed the Beaufort Memorial Collins Birthing Center in honor of Beaufort Memorial’s first and much-admired obstetrician, Dr. Earnest S. Collins. As part of the recent renovation project, the waiting room now features a tribute wall dedicated to his legacy.

Read More: Second-Generation Baby Delivered at Beaufort Memorial

Visitation

COVID-19 restrictions have been eased in the birthing center, allowing the patient’s primary support person and two additional visitors to see the baby and mother during their hospital stay. Siblings of all ages are also welcome to visit their new baby brother or sister. Siblings of the infant are the only under-18 visitors allowed in the Birthing Center. Visitors will not be allowed entry if fever or other symptoms are present.

Should visitation restrictions be necessary in the future, visitors are welcome to wait for word of the birth in the hospital’s Kate Gleason Park, a beautiful green space overlooking the Beaufort River.

“There’s an incredible feeling of intimacy when you deliver a baby at Beaufort Memorial,” Dr. Miller says. “You’re not a number or a name — you’re one of our neighbors. We live here, we know our patients and we care about them. It’s a great place to have a baby.”

From the renovated Collins Birthing Center to our Baby University classes and comprehensive prenatal and postpartum care, Beaufort Memorial is here for area mothers-to-be. Request an appointment with one of our OBGYNs.