Kennewick General Hospital: Family Birthing Center.

Family Birthing Center

You're having a baby! These are words that begin a lifetime of responsibility and treasured memories. It is time for making many decisions, like choosing a care provider and a facility where your child will be born. Kennewick General Hospital would like to assist you at this critical time of your life.

The Family Birthing Center at Kennewick General Hospital was the first unit in the area to offer birthing beds and Hydrotherapy Treatment. The Family Birthing Center provides an environment that is supportive, nurturing and enables a positive birth experience. The Hydrotherapy Treatment (whirlpool baths) help to ease discomfort of the delivery process and may actually shorten the length of labor.

Family-centered birth care that supports family closeness and participation is a philosophy at Kennewick General Hospital. The Family Birthing Center was designed with spacious, private birthing suites that offer the privacy and warmth of a homelike setting so that new mothers, and their families, can experience the miracle of birth together. The suites are decorated in fine oak furnishings including a comfortable rocker, sofa, color television, and a private bath with a whirlpool tub. The private birthing rooms allow the mother to stay with the baby from the time of admission to the time of discharge.

Outstanding and caring physicians, midwives, and nurses provide a blend of highly skilled and empathetic support for each family member throughout their stay. Love, joy and intimacy are integrated into the hospital setting. At the family Birthing Center your are free to choose with whomever you wish to share the experience and miracle of birth. Grandparents and siblings may visit any time after delivery. Families are welcome to take pictures, videotapes or record their baby's first sounds, with the mother's and the physician's permission.

Most physicians in the Tri-Cities area can deliver babies at Kennewick General Hospital even if their office is not located in Kennewick. Kennewick General Hospital is a provider for most major health plans and insurers.

Having a baby is a personal experience; every woman has individual joys and fears. Each pregnancy and birth is a truly unique experience. Care during this important time of your life must fit your needs and the needs of your family. Kennewick Gnereal Family Birthing Center recognizes the challenges that face you in making decisions about your child's birth. We invite you to call us at 509-585-BABY (509-585-2229) with questions and to schedule a tour of our Family Birthing Center. We welcome the opportunity to share our philosophy of birth and discuss the many options available to you. We're honored to be a part of an event as precious as the birth of your baby.

Parent Education
Pre- and post-birth classes offered by the KGH Community Education Department focus on quality, in-depth information. They are intended to expand the mother and father's awareness of their baby's world. When a mother chooses breastfeeding, the nurses offer special support to help her be successful. All mothers may call the nurses with questions after going home, or may return to the hospital for further support.

The birth of a baby is the making of a family. Our purpose is to assist you in achieving that goal with dignity and love.