Preparing for your delivery

• Arrange for someone to bring you to the hospital. Plan for parking.
• Arrange for your partner or support person to stay with you throughout your hospital stay.
• Arrange for child supervision and pet care during your hospital stay. Talk about the visiting guidelines with your friends and family.
• Make a list of important phone numbers (the Pregnancy, Birthing and Newborn Centre, your doctor or midwife, your support person, etc.). Keep the list somewhere easy to find.
• Arrange for someone to drive you home.
• If using a motor vehicle, have a Canadian motor vehicle safety standard-approved baby car seat put together and practice with it so you know how to use it.
• Buy the things you will need when you get home:
  • Sanitary napkins or maxi pads
  • Newborn diapers & wipes
  • Formula and equipment (if you are formula feeding)

What to bring for pregnant person

• Required identification:
  • BC Care Card (Medical Services Plan Card)
  • Government issued photo identification such as driver’s license or passport
• Baby’s Best Chance: Parents’ Handbook of Pregnancy and Baby Care. Bring your own copy to use. We refer to this book when we go over what you need to know before going home
• Any items of cultural/spiritual significance
• Camera/video camera/smartphone
• Portable speaker
• Plastic sandals/slippers for post-birth
• Housecoat
• Extra pillows
• Underwear
• Personal care products such as shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant
• Sanitary napkins or maxi pads. Bring enough for your hospital stay and your trip home
• Loose fitting clothes to wear home

What to bring for baby

• Diapers for going home
• Baby clothing for going home
• Two receiving blankets
• A blanket to go home
• A baby car seat – Canadian motor vehicle safety standard approved. The car seat needs to be for a newborn and the right size for your baby. Please put together your car seat and learn how to use the car seat before taking your baby home.

What to bring for your support person

• Pajamas
• Housecoat
• Slippers or shoes
• Snacks and food – there is a refrigerator for you to store food. Make sure that you label and date your food. Be SURE to take any leftovers home with you.
• Sleeping bag
• Pillows
• Bathing suit – for use in the shower or bath during labour
• Personal care products – such as shampoo, toothpaste, tooth brush, deodorant

Please do not bring:

• Large suitcases
• Large sums of money and/or credit cards
• Jewellery

If you have a collection kit from Inception Lifebank, Healthcord or Cells for Life, hospital lab staff will come to you and take the blood. The staff on the unit will call and arrange for this to happen. Please just advise staff that your intention is to have your cord blood collected, prior to your delivery.

If you have a collection kit from a company other than the three blood banks listed above, you will be asked to pay a $40 collection fee before the sample is drawn. This payment can be made at any point during the admission, and can be facilitated by your support person by going to the cashiers desk and obtaining a cashiers receipt. Once the receipt is obtained hospital lab staff will come to you and take the blood.

Due to the nature of cord blood retrieval being a personal decision that’s made possible through a service that is outside of the hospital, please reach out to your collection kit company prior to coming to the hospital for your delivery if you have any questions.

Please note that while our intention will absolutely be to honour your wishes to have your cord blood retrieved, the nature of each delivery is different and it may be that the conditions or timing of certain situations will not be conducive to a sample being taken. 

Your first stop is typically the Assessment Room. We will check to see if labour has started or review any concerns you or your care provider have. After the nurse checks you and your baby, they will contact your care provider who will recommend if you should stay in the hospital or go home. The Assessment Room has two beds and a shared bathroom.

Some of the reasons you may be seen in the Assessment Room:

• You think you are in labour
• You think your water has broken
• You feel like your baby’s movements have slowed down or have stopped
• You are having some bleeding or unusual pain
• You have had an accident that may affect you or your baby. In this case, you may need to stay in the hospital for several hours
• Your doctor or midwife has some concerns about you or your baby and would like more detailed assessment in the hospital
• You have concerns or other medical symptoms that your provider will assess

You would stay in the Antepartum Room if you have medical problems during your pregnancy and need closer observation and care before your baby is born. This room has two beds with a shared bathroom. Because this is a shared room, your partner or support person is not able to stay overnight.

Some of the reasons you may need to stay in the Antepartum Room:

• High blood pressure that is not going down at home
• Contractions before your due date
• Placental conditions