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www.FredericksburgParent.NET 19 Sponsored Material Join us for the live conversation on Do you have questions for Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center? Be sure to watch our Facebook Live interview this month! Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for information and updates. Facebook: @fredericksburgparent • Twitter: @FredParent • Instagram: @fredparentmagazine a sk t h e e x p e rt Q: Why did Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center decide to bring in round-the-clock OB hospitalists? It's really about peace of mind. No mother should have to worry about what would happen if she went into labor or had a medical emergency arise in the middle of the night, or on a holiday. We want parents-to-be—and the clinical OB/GYN's who care for them—to rest easy knowing that there are highly trained physicians who specialize in OB emergency care ready at all hours here at Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center. These round- the-clock hospitalists are partners in this care and maintain close contact with patients' regular doctors. It's our goal to provide the best personalized care for mothers and babies during pregnancy, labor, delivery and the postpartum period. We already have an amaz- ing OB team. Our intimate, 10-bed OB unit draws praise from new parents for its spacious rooms, and the fact that we keep you in one comfortable room for your entire stay here at the hospital. We also have a Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to care for premature babies and high-risk newborns. The addition of having OB hospitalists available 24/7 enhances this experi- ence by letting us focus on outstanding care for moms and babies in emergency situations. Hospitalist care has been growing nationwide over the past decade, and studies have found that having hospitalists on-board can reduce the number of perinatal safety events, and even reduce the number of caesarean deliveries. Q: How do I access OB hospitalists? Do I need to come to a specifi c part of the hospital? You just need to come to our Emergency Room. Women who come to the ER with OB medical emer- gencies are taken to our OB triage area to receive care from our hospitalists. The hospitalists are available 24/7, so no matter when you need to visit Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center, you can rest assured you'll be in the care of a highly trained OB/GYN. Q: Will the OB hospitalists communicate with my own OB/GYN? Absolutely. The OB hospitalist will touch base with your doctor as soon as they know you are at Spotsylva- nia Regional Medical Center. The hospitalists in no way replace the important relationship a pregnant mother has with her OB/GYN. Good clinical prenatal care is critical to a healthy pregnancy, and we urge parents- to-be to seek this out. OB hospitalists provide an enhanced safety net that ensures you'll never be with- out top-notch OB care at Spotsylvania Regional Medi- cal Center—no matter what time of day or what day of the week you come to us. The OB hospitalists will be able to connect with a patient's doctor to explain what is happening, why the mother-to-be is in the hospital and whether she will need to be admitted. Q: What if I am early in my pregnancy and I don't yet have an OB/GYN? Statistics show that 51 percent of mothers in the millennial generation do not have an OB/GYN before they get pregnant, so this is not uncommon. The OB hospitalists at Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center are here 24/7 to provide mothers-to-be and their babies the best level of care at all hours of the day. New moms can call our Consult-a-Nurse line at (888) 685-1610 to get a list of OB/GYNs in our area. If you are newly pregnant, we highly recommend checking out the website nopregnancyisperfect.com. You can find videos where couples tell their real- life birth stories, as well as week-by-week information about your pregnancy. If you have an Amazon Echo, enable our new Alexa skill, "40 weeks," which offers interactive answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about pregnancy and birth. Q: Can OB hospitalists provide post-partum care? Yes, in fact they are specially trained to be able to ask the questions needed to effectively treat post-partum issues if a mom with these needs comes to the hospital in an emergency. We do stress that the post-partum period is an important time for new mothers to stay in close touch with their own OB/GYN about how they are feeling and any issues they may be having. Supporting maternal and infant health in our community means we have to care for mothers throughout the post-partum period, and that is important to us at Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center. Q: I'm newly pregnant with my fi rst baby! How can I prepare? We welcome all parents expecting a child to come visit us as they make plans for baby's arrival. Visit our website at spotsrmc.com to learn about labor and delivery tours, or search for upcoming classes on breastfeeding, labor, baby basics and other topics. These free classes are taught by our certi- fied nurses and midwives. Visit spotsrmc.com to register for a tour or class, or call our Consult-A-Nurse line at (888) 685-1610. We want all of our expecting families to have the confidence that comes with knowledge and the availability of round-the-clock, top-notch obstetric care. We are here to support you as you navigate this journey. Final 26 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • March 2019 It's our goal to provide the best personalized care for mothers and babies during pregnancy, labor, delivery and the postpartum period.