Overview of Labor, Childbirth, Rehabilitation and Postpartum Space

In a hospital, the labor room is one of the most flexible spaces. It's called a space for labor, delivery, and rehabilitation (LDR). This is the type of room that is used for their care by some hospitals and almost all birth centers. When you are put in a bed, this is the room you will use, including the initial hours of healing, for your labor and birth.

For nearly all births, the LDR is planned. For women wanting to go unmedicated or those who choose to get an epidural, it can handle a birth. The vast majority of these spaces, including forceps and vacuum deliveries, can also accommodate minor emergencies and procedures. If you had to go to the operating room for a cesarean or the high likelihood of a cesarean, you would just have to leave this room (such as in the cases of twin births or a vaginal breech birth attempt).

What you need to know prior to labor and childbirth

When the infant is born, there is also equipment in the room to handle neonatal treatment. While the newborn's immediate care is best done with the mother by skin to skin, if there is an emergency or the need for specialized equipment, the typical LDR room is prepared with a baby warmer and life-saving resuscitation equipment. For the first hour or two after you give birth, you remain in this room, then you are moved to a postpartum room.

Some facilities also include what is known as a space for labor, childbirth, rehabilitation, and postpartum (LDRP). In the LDRP, you will give birth here, and once you are able to go home, your baby will stay with you. The nursery is used by many of these facilities only for babies who are sick, rather than for proper newborn treatment.

The LDRP is fitted, as with the LDR, to manage only vaginal births. If they are available at your place of birth, you can get an epidural or some other pain reliever in this room. And in the vast majority of LDR spaces, you can even have a forceps or vacuum delivery if you are in a hospital and need it. You would usually not recover in the LDR if you need a c-section at the hospital, even if you served in one. This can rely on space and the number of people on the shift.

Take a Tour of the Hospital

Before you give birth, when you take your hospital tour, be sure to inquire about the rooms where you will give birth. There could also be a mix of rooms in your hospital, meaning that some patients may get a special space and others won't. This may be served first-come-first-or it may be by special order.

An example may be that there are only a few rooms in your hospital designed to accommodate a water birth. This means that, based on a variety of factors, including individuals who expressed interest in pre-registration earlier, they can determine who gets to go to which room. It's also focused on who took those classes or other variables at the hospital.

For warmth, you should ask what is in each room and what you should consider carrying. A normal or peanut birth ball, or a small speaker to play music during childbirth, may be an example.