Mercy Medical Center
Do you offer private rooms? If so, what is the cost?
Yes, we do. They are free of charge.
Do you offer prenatal, sibling or other classes?
Mercy offers childbirth education classes, maternity tours, as well as infant/child CPR. All of the classes are offered monthly. The hospital offers a breast-feeding support group, led by certified lactation specialists, that meet monthly. Those meetings are available to all, regardless of where the baby was born.
What special things do you do for the mother and baby?
We play Brahms’ Lullaby when each baby is born. We also offer a celebration dinner to all patients and have a continental breakfast each morning in the mother/baby unit bistro.
Do you have an on-site neonatal intensive care unit (NICU)?
Mercy has the only Level III NICU on the South Shore of Long Island. It features 15 beds, a NICU parent room and a pumping room.
Do you have a labor and delivery room?
Yes.
Are doulas or midwives allowed?
Yes.
What kind of security measures do you have in place to make sure the baby is safe?
The mother/baby, NICU and delivery room are all locked units. All maternal child staff have color coded IDs and Kelly security tags are used on all newborns.
Is there a breast-feeding coach and lactation consultant available on-site? Does the hospital support breast- and/or bottle feeding?
Many of our nurses are certified breastfeeding coaches. We also have a lactation specialist on staff. We support breast-feeding and are striving to become breast-feeding friendly.
Is videotaping/photographing the birth allowed? A photographer for newborns available?
Yes, we offer a newborn photographer, Mom365, for a cost if the parents would like to use the service. Videotaping of the birth is not allowed.
What do the rooms look like?
Do you offer anything special for moms during labor (i.e. hydrobath, labor ball, etc.)?
No.
Do you offer a hospital tour?
Yes, Mercy offers a monthly tour. Private tours are given upon request.
Does the hospital do cord blood banking?
No, only private banking.
Do you offer any parting swag bags with samples?
An infant T-shirt, “I am a Mercy Star,” is given upon discharge.
Are siblings allowed to visit? Can the spouse sleep in the room?
Yes, and spouses can stay overnight if they want.
What are the visiting hours?
We have open visiting hours on the mother/baby unit. In the NICU, grandparents must be accompanied by a parent and only two at a time at the bedside.
What’s the rate of C-sections at the hospital?
Approximately 30 percent.
What’s the rate of breast-feeding mothers?
30 percent exclusively breast-feeding, 85 percent breast and bottle.
What is the episiotomy rate?
Mercy does not track the rate of episiotomies.
Will my baby be able to sleep in the same room as me? Is there a nursery?
We promote full rooming in.
Average length of a postpartum stay?
Two to four days, depending on delivery type.
Does the hospital offer anything new/cutting edge?
We have NICU Knowledge software for the hospital’s NICU. The project enables parents of babies spending time in the NICU to learn about the special needs of their infants. Delivered via tablet, parents learn about feeding, bathing, identifying distress and other issues. NICU Knowledge is available in a variety of different languages and is an essential source of parental education for the community. And, we offer donor breast milk for babies in the NICU who meet criteria.