Post-delivery Support
Support after you deliver
We offer a range of support services, including support immediately after you deliver as well as ongoing support. Our New Parent Groups (described lower in page) are ongoing and we also provide Postpartum Mental Health support.
Maternal Newborn Nurse Follow Up Visit
Wentworth-Douglass offers every family a follow-up nurse visit. Routine follow-up nurse visits are usually scheduled 2 -3 days after discharge, unless otherwise ordered by your practitioner.
During the visit, the nurse will complete a Maternal/Newborn assessment, provide health teaching, and answer any questions that you and your new family may have. Each visit is individualized to meet your family's specific needs.
Breast Feeding Support
As a Baby-Friendly Hospital, we are committed to helping you achieve your breastfeeding goals. More than 80% of babies born at Wentworth-Douglass begin breastfeeding, a rate that is well above the national standards. Learn more about our support for breastfeeding moms and babies.
Safe Sleep Guidelines from Cribs for Kids
We are a Gold Certified Safe Sleep Hospital, and we promote guidelines for infant safe sleep and have a safe place for all babies to lay their heads.
- Always place your baby alone, on his or her back, in a crib for every sleep time.
- Always use a firm, flat sleep surface. Car seats and other seating devices, like swings, wedges, and devices that position your baby on an incline, are not safe for routine sleep.
- Use a firm sleep surface with a firm crib mattress covered by a fitted sheet. Try a crib, bassinet, or portable crib/play yard that conforms to the safety standards of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
- Room share, but do not bed share. Various U.S. medical groups warn parents not to place their infants to sleep in adult beds. Bed-sharing puts babies at risk of suffocation, strangulation, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Studies have found that bed-sharing is the most common cause of deaths in babies, especially those 3 months and younger.
- Crib bumper pads or similar products that attach to crib slats are not recommended. There is no evidence that they prevent injury in young infants, but they do pose a risk.
- Don’t overheat or overdress your baby. Dress your baby in light sleep clothing. Keep the room at a temperature that is comfortable for an adult (between 68-72 degrees F).
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Discontinue swaddling if your infant exhibits signs of attempting to roll. This usually happens between 3 and 4 months but may occur earlier.
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Do not use weighted blankets, sleepers, swaddles, or other weighted objects on or near the sleeping infant.
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Heart rate and pulse oximetry monitoring devices, including wearable monitors, sold as a consumer wellness devices are not recommended.
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Place infant in tummy time while awake and supervised for short periods of time, increasing incrementally to at least 15-30 minutes a day by age 7 weeks.
New Parent Support Groups
Come and meet other new parents and discuss topics of concern to you. This group is facilitated by someone from our lactation department and child life specialists. We meet in-person every Wednesday from 1:30 - 2:30pm. Please register in advance.