Labor and Delivery

Ohio State’s excellent Labor and Delivery care

When you’re pregnant, you’ll want to find the best and safest place possible to deliver – someplace that will treat you and your arriving infant with expert care and dignity.

At The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, you can take heart in knowing that not only will your baby enter the world in a warm, comforting environment, but you’ll also be surrounded by a team that is highly experienced and able to provide unparalleled expertise as you finally meet your baby. Now, with our state-of-the-art Maternity Center in the newly opened University Hospital, we can serve you and your family with an even greater level of technology and resources combined with world-class birthing spaces.

As the only Level IV Maternity Center in central Ohio, thousands of families choose to have their babies here each year. However, it’s the personalized attention we provide to every single one of them that makes our maternity care experience so memorable – one mom and one Buckeye Baby at a time.

New Labor and Delivery amenities

labor and delivery room with tv screen Our new Labor and Delivery space on the 23rd floor of University Hospital allows us to better serve all types of births. Some of the new highlights of Labor and Delivery include:

Free, around-the-clock valet that’s available for all admitted maternity patients
Spacious, private birthing suites (roughly 500 square feet each)
Two suites with large, permanent birthing tubs for hydrotherapy or water births (all rooms can be equipped with portable tubs)
Birthing beds that support a variety of birthing positions and allow you to transition from one position to another easily to best promote a vaginal delivery
Equipment, such as birthing mirrors, bars and birthing balls, to help facilitate birth
Natural light and magnificent views of the city of Columbus coming from 9-foot windows in each room
65-inch digital footwall screens in every room to give you information on your care team, educational resources and entertainment

These highlights, along with new operating rooms equipped with the most advanced technology and dedicated triage space in our Obstetric Emergency Department, combine comfort and state-of-the-art technology for a Labor and Delivery experience unmatched elsewhere.

Before you arrive at the hospital for labor

We start caring for parents long before their babies arrive. We believe it’s never too soon to start preparing for a healthy pregnancy, and we have various resources to help you get to delivery day feeling as ready as you can be to meet your baby.

Childbirth education and classes

Our pregnancy experts have created various downloadable guides and in-person classes that will help protect the health of both you and your baby and prepare your family for a new addition.

What to pack for the hospital

Because not everyone knows exactly when they’ll go into labor, it’s important to pack a bag for you and your baby several weeks before your due date. Having your partner or support person pack one, too, can also be helpful.

What to consider for your bag:

Cash, credit card or debit card
Phone and charger
Eyeglasses and contacts, hearing aids, inhalers or other medical devices
Toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, hairbrush, shampoo and conditioner (we can provide if you forget)
Hair clips or headbands
Comfortable underwear with soft waistband
Nursing bra
Soft nightgown with buttons or easy access for breastfeeding
Robe and sandals or flip flops
Relaxation materials, such as books, magazines, music and iPads
Comfortable clothes and shoes to go home

For baby’s bag:

Going home outfit, such as a T-shirt or onesie and a hat
Socks or booties
Clothing for baby’s first photo
Receiving blanket, and extra blanket if the weather is cold
Baby book for keepsakes
Rear-facing car seat that’s been inspected for safety
Name, address and phone number of your baby’s new pediatrician

Plan your route to the hospital

Before the big day, plan the route you will take to get to the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center, as well as an alternate route. It can be helpful to practice the drive during heavy traffic and times with very little traffic.

Call ahead of arrival

When able, call your provider prior to arriving at the hospital if you think you're in labor, your water has broken or if you have concerns or questions. Calling ahead will allow our staff to prepare for your arrival and ensure you receive timely care. Calling ahead can also help even if you’re scheduled for an induction or cesarean birth.

View list of provider phone numbers

How to get to Ohio State’s Maternity Center

Our Maternity Center has a new location in the new University Hospital.

Address is 520 W. 10th Ave.
The new building is just west of the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (the OSUCCC – James). The buildings are connected through an indoor walkway.
Labor and Delivery is located on the 23rd floor of the tower. Upon entering the ground level or on the second floor from the parking garage, a patient representative will direct you to the elevators.
If labor is progressing quickly, two express elevators are available to take you nonstop to Labor and Delivery, using the “Urgent Access to Labor and Delivery” button.

Parking for Labor and Delivery

The best way to access parking is using our around-the-clock valet that’s free for admitted maternity patients. The valet stand is located at our ground floor entrance at 520 W. 10th Ave. If you have more time and would like to park yourself, the closest self-park option is the adjoining Wexner Medical Center Garage at 527 W. 10th Ave. Park on the fourth floor and enter the hospital via the bridge connector to the second-floor hospital lobby.

What to expect while in labor and delivery

From the moment you arrive until discharge, you and your support person will be part of your care team’s decisions. You can tell us preferences and concerns – which we understand may change during or after birth – and there will be opportunities to ask your care team questions and share how you’re feeling.

Knowing what to expect can also help you feel more prepared and confident during labor. Understanding the stages of labor is often the first step. Stages of labor include:

Labor – This is when contractions happen. There are two parts to labor, early labor and active labor.
Pushing and birth – This is when the baby arrives. For some people, this phase can last hours or only a few minutes.
Delivery of the placenta – Typically, contractions to deliver the placenta begin again five to 30 minutes after your baby arrives.

At Ohio State, we’re experts at getting your baby here healthy, while also ensuring you’re cared for, too.

Types of labor and delivery offered at Ohio State

Our main goal remains to get your infant here safely, but we support you having birth options when it’s possible. We have experts available in all types of births, including:

Unmedicated vaginal delivery (natural childbirth)
Medicated vaginal delivery, including using an epidural or other pain reliever
Scheduled cesarean birth
Emergency cesarean birth
Vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC)
Inductions
Water births or births using hydrotherapy

Pain management options

Using pain management doesn’t automatically mean an epidural. We offer a variety of pain management options, including:

Epidural
IV pain relievers
Nitrous oxide

Our anesthesiologists are here 24/7 to provide an epidural if that’s part of your birth plan. If you’re planning to have an unmedicated delivery, you’ll also find plenty of support – our nursing team is trained in positioning techniques to help facilitate vaginal birth. You’re also welcome to bring a doula to further support you.

Private, spacious rooms with breathtaking views

Our new Labor and Delivery rooms span roughly 500 square feet each, with 9-foot windows overlooking Columbus. They’re equipped with a large bathroom and a walk-in shower with specialized amenities to help with labor, and wireless fetal monitoring that allows you to move freely.

A couple checks in at Labor and Delivery registration

Family-centered care

It’s important to involve your support person in the baby’s care, which is why we have arranged our new birthing suites and postpartum rooms to accommodate your partner throughout your stay, including pullout couches to sleep on and light dimmers to customize lighting in various areas of the room. We encourage your support person to be an active participant in the baby’s feedings, diaper changing and bathing.

Post-delivery and recovery

In most cases, immediately following delivery, your baby will be placed skin to skin or on your chest. Research shows that this process can have many positive effects on the baby, including increasing the mother-baby bond, calming the baby, improving body temperature, stabilizing heartrate and increasing the likelihood of successful breastfeeding.

You’ll remain in the delivery room for about an hour, during which a variety of care will be provided to you and your infant before you are transferred to postpartum care on the 24th floor. That care includes:

Cord cutting
Apgar evaluation, which looks at the baby’s heart rate, breathing, activity and muscle tone, reflexes and color
Any medical care the mother may need
Checking baby’s height and weight
Monitoring baby’s temperature
Placement of an ID band on the baby to match wristbands worn by parents
Eye ointment for baby to prevent infection
Vitamin K shot

The period following delivery is exciting but busy. We have highly specialized units and providers to make sure you and your baby remain healthy and safe.

Critical care

Two dedicated rooms in Labor and Delivery are equipped to care for the most complex conditions in pregnancy and manage urgent situations that may occur during your labor and postpartum stay.

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)

Should your baby need extra care, the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Level III NICU is available at Ohio State with every type of specialized care baby would need.