Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital - Family Birthing Center

Pre-registering is a great first step to begin your journey with Sentara. This allows you to share important information with providers, including your birth preferences. Once you’ve pre-registered, you can sign in to Sentara MyChart any time of day to:

• Message your provider
• View test results
• View visit summaries
• And more

To pre-register, call 757-736-0191 or pre-register online.

Our state-of-the-art facility was designed with you and your growing family in mind. We offer:

• Spacious, private birthing rooms where you can labor, deliver and recover, with all the comforts of home and the latest technology
• Whirlpool tubs for relaxation during labor
• Operating room (for cesarean births) and mother/baby rooms (for postpartum recovery) located in our Center, not on another floor or in another wing
• Centrally located newborn nursery so, if you choose to use the nursery, your baby is still nearby
• A Level II Special Care Nursery providing care for babies born after 34 weeks of gestation who need to be watched closely or receive extra care following birth
• Dedicated staff and educational resources to help you plan your ideal maternity experience, including helping expectant mothers map out low-intervention birth plans
• Obstetric Case Management services are available for those requiring extra care prior to birth

Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital offers a Level II Special Care Nursery. The nursery provides care for babies born after 34 weeks of gestation who need to be watched closely or receive extra care following birth.

Located next to the regular nursery, this nursery has seven beds dedicated for babies who need some extra TLC. Specially trained nurses work in our special care nursery, helping little ones who may have difficulty maintaining body temperature or taking oral feedings or who are moderately ill and may need medications or extra oxygen.

Our nursing team works closely with the families to ensure they can bond through skin-to-skin contact and breastfeed, if they choose.

Please park in our parking garage on the main floor (3rd floor) and enter through the main hospital doors. All labor patients will be directed with next steps from there.

If you arrive after 9 PM, these doors will be locked. A video call box has been installed at our main entrance doors to serve our overnight maternity patients. If you arrive after 9 PM, use the call box to connect to security staff who can admit you to the building.

If an overnight visitor leaves the hospital after 9:00 PM, they must re-enter through the Emergency Department.

Labor and delivery

You can choose three primary support people to receive special wristbands allowing them 24/7 access to support you throughout labor and delivery. Doulas are included in this total.

Postpartum

Family and friends are welcome to visit unless you tell us otherwise. Your visitors must check in at the front desk of our secure unit, where a member of our team will contact you in your hospital room to verify that you’re ready for visitors.

Visitors under 12 must be supervised at all times by an adult other than the patient. Children whose behavior is disruptive will be asked to leave.

For the safety of you and our other patients, only one primary support person may stay with you overnight. If an overnight visitor leaves the hospital after 9:00 PM, they must re-enter through the emergency department.

Special Care Nursery

Parents receive special wristbands allowing them 24/7 access to support their newborn. Siblings of the newborn patient are allowed to visit our Special Care Nursery, but must be supervised by a parent or other support person at all times. It is recommended that siblings under the age of five limit visitation to 30 minutes. No more than four people may visit at a time.

All guidelines are subject to change at any time. We appreciate your understanding as we work to keep our patients, visitors and staff safe.

International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLs) are available to new parents every day from 8 AM to 4 PM. Our lactation consultants also provide one-on-one outpatient lactation consultations to assist you and your baby after you’ve gone home.

Many new parents have additional questions as they embark on their breastfeeding journey, and the experts at Sentara Martha Jefferson are available to help. The first step is to sign up for one of our free breastfeeding classes.

For additional breastfeeding support, please call 434-654-8440.

Did you know? More than 80 percent of new parents at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital breastfeed their babies!

Support Groups

We host several postpartum support groups for you to attend on your parenthood journey. Prenatal parents are encouraged to attend so they can meet the community that will be there to support them once their baby arrives.

Support groups are free and there is no registration required to attend. Join our private Facebook page, Sentara Martha Jefferson Motherhood for more information and links to attend virtual classes or you can email lesalvat@sentara.com to be placed on our email list to receive links and updates for group meetings.

In-person meetings are held at 595 Martha Jefferson Drive, Suite 330.

Groups include:

Welcome to Motherhood

We discuss a wide range of topics-whatever the group needs most! We share resources, problem-solve and encourage one another. Many folks have discovered the power of relationship and vulnerability in this group.

In-person meetings are on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of each month from 10:30 AM to 12 PM.

Virtual meetings are on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays from 10:30 AM to 12 PM.

Out of the Blues

This group is proudly affiliated with Postpartum Support Virginia as a resource for anyone who has experienced or is currently experiencing symptoms of Perinatal Mood or Anxiety Disorders (PMADs). PMADs encompass anxiety, OCD, depression and PTSD. The effects of PMADs are often felt within the first year of giving birth. As a social support group, it’s facilitated by survivors, not professional therapists. No official diagnosis is needed to attend.

Meetings are on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month from 10:30 AM to 12 PM.

Parenting Support for Survival

This support group is a space for you to check-in, normalize your current reality and receive support from others. Each week a mom and dad will be co-facilitating the group, and we can divide into sub-groups if needed. We also have occasional guest speakers lead our conversation. Both parents are encouraged to attend and babies and toddlers are welcome, of course!

Meetings are held virtually on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays from 7:30 PM. - 8:30 PM.

Postpartum Support Virginia

Postpartum Support Virginia’s mission is to educate families, healthcare providers and communities about perinatal mood & anxiety disorders (PMADs) and to provide resources to help new and expectant mothers and their families overcome anxiety, depression and other PMADs.

To learn more, visit postpartumva.org/for-parents

National Maternal Mental Health Hotline

The National Maternal Mental Health Hotline provides 24/7, free confidential support from professional counselors before, during or after pregnancy.

The Hotline provides:

• Real-time support and information
• Response within a few minutes, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
• Referrals to local and telehealth providers and support groups
• Culturally sensitive support
• Counselors who speak English and Spanish
• Interpreter services in 60 languages

To reach the hotline, dial: 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262)