Labor and delivery
Just as every baby is unique, so is every delivery. As your trusted care partner, we work to provide a personalized birthing experience that begins long before your first contraction and continues well after delivery.
Labor and delivery unit in Richmond, Virginia
With our childbirth team at your side, you and your baby are in good hands.
At Johnston-Willis Hospital, we do everything we can to ensure healthy and happy outcomes for you and your baby. Our amenities — including neonatal intensive care, doula resources and maternity classes — create a soothing environment and prioritize your comfort and safety.
Preregister for delivery
Having a delivery plan can help take the stress out of both unexpected and routine labors. Preregistration allows you to fully focus on the experience and excitement of meeting your new baby.
Having a delivery plan can help take the stress out of both unexpected and routine labors. Preregistration allows you to fully focus on the experience and excitement of meeting your new baby.
Related specialties
Learn more about our related specialties.
Labor and delivery services we offer
From routine pregnancy appointments to care in our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), our experienced obstetrician-gynecologists (OB/GYNs) and perinatologists care for you and your baby from your first trimester onward.
Maternity hospital amenities
Each birth is special, and we want to provide you with an experience that aligns with your labor and delivery goals. Whether you come to us for a medically-assisted birth or unmedicated delivery, our facilities are designed with your comfort in mind. Our maternity specialists and anesthesiologists use advanced obstetric technology and techniques to make your experience as joyful as possible. Some of our in-house amenities include:
- Comfortable, private delivery rooms
- Dedicated operating rooms for unplanned or emergency cesarean sections (C-sections).
- Doula resources
- Family kitchens stocked with snacks and beverages
- In-room Wi-Fi
- Spacious waiting areas
Maternity classes and hospital tours
As part of our prenatal services, we offer a wide range of maternity classes to help you and your support system prepare for not just pregnancy and childbirth, but also the transition to parenthood. Classes we offer include family-centered maternity care, birthing options and techniques for breathing and relaxation.
We want you to feel empowered and comfortable during your birth experience. To help you prepare for the big day, we also offer free labor and delivery tours showcasing our maternity unit, which you can come and see at your convenience.
Neonatal intensive care
If your baby needs extra care after they are born, we have a Level III NICU to help with whatever they need. Our NICU is part of the Vermont Oxford Network, a worldwide group of more than 1,000 healthcare organizations working together to improve the quality and safety of neonatal care.
In this unit, a diverse group of neonatal specialists, respiratory therapists, physical therapists, social workers and lactation consultants provide specialized support for a variety of critical conditions. As a NICU with a Level III designation, our NICU specialists are able to care for babies born before 32 weeks and/or weighing less than 3.3 pounds.
Dedicated NICU services
Our NICU serves as a quiet, nurturing space for your family to spend time with your little one. We welcome visitation with siblings and grandparents whenever possible, and you will be able to stay by your baby's side almost 24 hours a day. Our NICU only limits visitors during two, hour-long shift changes at 6:30am and 6:30pm.
We offer comfortable, private rooms that can accommodate you and one support person for the duration of your stay. Each comfortable, private room offers:
- Bottle warmers
- Breast pumps
- Refrigerator
- Sleeper sofas and chairs
We also treat newborns with withdrawal symptoms caused by neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), which is caused by in utero exposure to drugs. Whether you or your baby is addicted to opioids or other substances, our specialists are here to provide respectful, compassionate care.
Additionally, if you need an extra pair of hands to care for your baby, our Cuddler Program offers carefully trained volunteers who hold, read to and provide comfort to NICU babies when their parents cannot be present.
Postpartum care
Our spacious maternity suites include private bathrooms and sleeping accommodations for your partner or support person.
Relax with your partner and bond with your baby in the space you're familiar with. At our hospital, we practice couplet care (also known as "rooming in") so you and your partner can get to know your baby in a private setting. This means your baby stays with you in the room at all times, even during examinations.
Our team will continue to provide abundant support and encouragement after your baby is born and throughout your hospital stay. Our goals are to help you recover from childbirth, learn to care for your new baby and begin the transition home. Some of the postpartum services we provide include:
- Breastfeeding support and donor milk
- Celebratory meal after your baby's birth
- Ongoing counseling to help make the transition less daunting
- 24/7 support for postpartum depression and mental health care can be found through Chippenham Hospital's behavioral health program
If you need additional at-home lactation support, you can talk to one of our consultants at (804) 483-2253. This service is part of the reason why we have earned the Virginia Department of Health's "breastfeeding-friendly" designation for our efforts to promote and support breastfeeding among new mothers.
Johnston-Willis Hospital NICU and high-risk services
Johnston-Willis Hospital's Level III NICU provides a high level of acute care for our tiniest and most critically ill newborns. We have around the clock, on-call neonatologists, so that babies can have the care that they need with the latest technology and highly trained specialists experienced in and dedicated to your baby's health.
Direct admit to NICU
With the private rooms in the NICU at Johnston-Willis Hospital, we are able to re-admit babies who have been discharged directly to the NICU without the need of coming through the emergency room.
If you have any questions or for direct admit, please reach out to the Johnston-Willis NICU at (804) 483-6350.
Re-admission criteria
Readmission to the NICU
- Less than 30 days of age or
- Less than 44 weeks corrected gestation
- No obvious contagious disease process (RSV, COVID-19 or flu)
Note: If the baby is in the emergency room, we would like respiratory panel and COVID-19 swabs
taken, if possible, but we do not need to wait for results for admission to the NICU.
Most common candidates for readmission include by are not limited to:
- Hyperbilirubinemia
- Hypothermia
- Poor feeding (especially in late preterm gestation infants: 34-37 weeks)
- Former NICU baby
- Failure to thrive
If the baby presents at the Johnston-Willis emergency room consult with the neonatologist
for admission to NICU. If the baby is at Chippenham, consult with Peds/PICU and they will determine whether the baby should be transferred or admitted to Peds.
Exchange transfusion
We will also be taking babies at high risk for exchange transfusion, and babies less than 35 weeks gestation at birth that are still less than 30 days or 44 weeks corrected, who present to the Chippenham emergency department or upon referral from Peds hospitalist/intensivist. The threshold for bilirubin level is 20. Any baby with a bilirubin level greater than 20 will be referred to the neonatologist. If a pediatrician wishes to send babies who meet the age criteria to Johnston-Willis Hospital directly to the NICU, they need to reach out to the neonatologist.
Neonatal transport
We can take and/or transport infants who meet age criteria from other facilities as well. We have a neonatal transport team in-house for all neonatal transports.