The day you meet your baby is one you’ll never forget. At OHSU, we offer Oregon’s most advanced care to help you have a safe and rewarding delivery. We provide a full range of birth options, from water birth with a nurse-midwife to specialist care for high-risk pregnancies. Our goal is to help you have the best birth experience for you.

You’ll find:

• Respect for your preferences and choices.
• Doctors, nurses and nurse-midwives who work as a team to care for you and your baby.
• Oregon’s best care for people with a high risk of complications.
• Strong support for breastfeeding and vaginal birth, including VBAC.
• Doctors, anesthesiologists, nurse-midwives and other specialists on-site 24/7.
• A state-of-the-art neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) steps from our birthing suites.
• Providers who are also researchers, at the leading edge of new discoveries and care options. Learn about our current research.

Learn more

• Labor and delivery tour
• Planning your stay
• When to come to the hospital
• Anesthesiology and pain relief
• VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean)
• Water birth
• Prenatal care

Our expertise

Our providers are childbirth experts who are equally comfortable with unmedicated low-risk births and complex high-risk deliveries.

Most of our providers are also educators and researchers. They stay current with the latest developments in their field and offer leading options for your care.

Many of our doctors are fellowship-trained. This means they spent two or three years training in a pregnancy or gynecology specialty after their residency.

At OHSU, you’ll find Oregon and Southwest Washington’s top specialists in preterm birth, fetal therapy, multiple gestations (twins, triplets), maternal heart disease and several other high-risk fields.

Care centered on you and your baby

Each member of your care team will work with you to make the birth of your child safe, healthy and joyful.

Birth plans: Your care team will carefully create a birth plan with you. We will be your partner through labor, delivery and recovery, guided by your goals at every step.

Birth options:

• We support vaginal births with and without medication.
• We offer water birth with nurse-midwife care.
• We have a successful VBAC program.
• We are experts in complex, high-risk deliveries.

Babies stay with you: Once you’ve given birth, your baby stays with you in your room. This promotes bonding and breastfeeding.

Birth partner and doula welcome: Your birth partner and one visitor are welcome throughout your labor, childbirth and recovery. Birthing and recovery suites are designed with room for your support people.

• Amenities: We provide large rooms, spacious hallways and wireless monitors to help you keep moving through labor. For visiting family members, we offer waiting rooms. Our campus also has several dining options, including a cafeteria that’s open 24/7, as well as vending machines.
• Pain relief options: We fully support your decision to give birth with or without medication. We have many options for coping in labor without medication and an anesthesiologist is always on-site to offer options for medicated pain relief.

Learn more about our pregnancy care.

What to expect

We look forward to supporting you during your labor and delivery.

• All members of your care team will understand your preferences or birth plan. We will partner with you to make the best decisions for you and your baby, every step of the way.
• We understand that childbirth is unpredictable. We’re skilled at quickly changing course and equipped to offer advanced emergency care if needed.
• We’re committed to low cesarean rates. But if you need a C-section, we aim to make it a birth experience, not just a surgery.

Our facilities

• Family Birth Center (giving birth): You’ll find large private rooms with adjustable birth beds, jetted tubs and plenty of room for you and your partner or support person.
• Mother-Baby Unit (after birth): You and your baby recover together in a private room. You’ll find a bed for your partner and 24-hour breastfeeding support.
• Neonatal intensive care: If your baby needs special care, our NICU is steps away. It’s staffed by doctors with advanced training in newborn care.

Take a tour

Our services

You’ll find a complete range of childbirth services, including:

Midwifery care: Our certified nurse-midwives will guide you through labor and birth, with immediate access to OHSU’s full resources. We also offer group and individual prenatal care and gynecologic care.

VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean): Our doctors and nurse-midwives support VBAC for most patients with normal pregnancies. We have deep experience and a program with a high success rate.

Water birth: Many people find that being in warm water during labor helps them relax and better manage pain. We have more experience with water births than any hospital in the area.

Lactation services: During your hospital stay, your nurse can support you with lactation whenever you need it. If you have a problem or concern, certified breastfeeding or chestfeeding experts can come to your room to support you. After you go home, experts are available to help with any questions or concerns. We also offer classes on breastfeeding or chestfeeding.

Childbirth and parenting classes: Our classes help you prepare for childbirth and for taking care of your baby. You’ll also find a group for new parents.

Follow-up services

Before you leave the hospital, we can help you arrange an appointment with a lactation consultant. If you’ve chosen a pediatrician or family medicine provider, we’ll make sure to send your baby’s records.

You will go home with instructions to make appointments with your doctor or midwife, often for two and six weeks after birth. During these important visits, you can get help or referrals for:

• Exams and follow-up care. We will track your recovery from birth or surgery. We’ll check how any incisions are healing, examine your breasts, and check the size of your uterus. We will monitor any ongoing conditions or issues that came up during pregnancy.
• Birth control. We can offer advice, write prescriptions, or insert an implant or IUD.
• Mental health support. Anxiety and depression after childbirth are common and treatable. We offer expert, compassionate care.
• Nutritional advice. You’ll find advice on what to eat if you’re breastfeeding. We can also share information on any supplements you might need.
• Physical therapy. Our women’s health physical therapists can help with bladder leaks, pelvic pain and muscle weakness or separation that can follow childbirth.