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.
Maternity services in Kansas City
At Research Medical Center, our experienced doctors and advanced technologies help us create a safe, healthy birth experience for women throughout the Greater Kansas City region.
Mothers receive full-service maternity care, including prenatal screenings, labor and delivery services and postpartum care, all in one location.
NICU parent survey
Please use this link to take the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) parent survey.
Please use this link to take the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) parent survey.
Related specialties
Learn more about our related specialties.
Personalized maternity care
We provide personalized maternity care for expectant parents and their babies. Our doctors specialize in every aspect of mother-baby care, and our experienced nurses and support staff are dedicated to caring for moms and newborns.
We provide a wide range of maternity services to help you create the unique birthing plan you desire. Mothers and babies at our hospital benefit from:
- Baby warmers
- Breastfeeding support from board-certified lactation consultants
- Comprehensive midwifery services featuring certified nurse-midwives (CNMs)
- Dedicated surgical suites
- Doctors specializing in all areas of mother-baby care
- Register for one of our Health Arrivals prenatal education classes
- In-house obstetric emergency room (ER)
- Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
- Modern, comfortable birthing and recovery suites
- Postpartum breastfeeding support groups
- Screenings for mom and baby, including ultrasound imaging
- Support from maternity nurse navigators throughout pregnancy, labor and delivery
- Support for vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC)
Maternity nurse navigation
Our maternity navigator acts as your advocate to ensure your birthing experience is tailored to your unique needs and preferences. Maternity navigators help guide you through pregnancy, labor and delivery. The dedicated maternity navigator at our facility helps us provide the patient-centered care that makes our hospital a top choice in our community.
Your maternity navigator may assist you in many ways, such as:
- Get to know each other and understand services provided by Maternity Navigation
- Visit regularly throughout your pregnancy
- Download our free Childbirth 101 app
- Take a tour of the hospital
- Discuss what hospital amenities are important to you
- Create or review a birth plan
- Determine any risks or health factors that could impact your pregnancy
- Sign up for our Healthy Arrivals classes to help you prepare for childbirth, parenthood, multiples and more!
- Review your partner's role during labor and delivery
- Complete your pre-admission paperwork
At Research Medical Center, our goal is to help you feel confident throughout your pregnancy and as ready for the big day as possible. Our Maternity Navigator is your guide, advocate, and friend for your journey to parenthood.
We will pair you with your own Maternity Navigator—a labor and delivery nurse—who will regularly visit with you one-on-one to develop and walk through your unique pregnancy plan.
Choosing your birth experience
We know that mothers have many options for what they want in their birthing experience. To best serve all of our mothers, we now offer two new options for patients: delayed newborn bathing and nitrous oxide for pain relief.
Delayed newborn bathing
Medical experts now say that a baby's first bath should be delayed for 8 to 24 hours after birth. If a baby is delivered by cesarean section, they can wait up to 48 hours. Delayed bathing is shown to provide many benefits, including:
- Helping establish breastfeeding
- Helping stabilize blood sugar and temperature
- Promoting mother/baby bonding
- Reducing a baby's risk for infection
Nitrous oxide for labor pain relief
We are proud to be the first hospital in Kansas City to offer nitrous oxide as a pain relief option during labor. Nitrous oxide can replace the need for narcotics or an epidural and is completely administered and controlled by the mother. Research shows that nitrous oxide effects wear off quickly after delivery and that it is a safe option for both mom and baby.
Comprehensive care for all types of pregnancies
If any issues or concerns arise during your pregnancy, you can feel confident in the experienced care you will receive at our hospital. Our doctors care for patients experiencing prenatal, labor and postpartum-related conditions, including:
- Ectopic/tubal pregnancy
- Gestational diabetes
- Inappropriate lactation
- Miscarriage
- Persistent vomiting
- Placenta previa
- Placental abruption
- Postpartum depression
- Postpartum hemorrhage
- Pre-eclampsia/toxemia
- Premature birth
Obstetrics ER and hospitalist program
Most babies are born without any complications affecting the mother or child. However, should a problem occur, you and your baby have access to obstetric (OB) hospitalists — experts in treating obstetric emergencies. Our OB hospitalists are on-site 24/7 should an emergency situation arise. The OB hospitalists in our ER have additional training in neonatal resuscitation, advanced cardiac life support and surgery.
When an emergency occurs, our hospitalists are immediately available to provide surgical treatment and consult with a patient's primary OB/GYN. OB hospitalists at our facility do not work in private offices, meaning they strictly serve patients admitted to our ER. They also offer in-hospital services to maintain continuity of care.
Mothers throughout Missouri and Kansas who have perinatal complications or who are at risk for early delivery can be transferred to our hospital for high-risk pregnancy care. We also provide neonatal support that may not be available at other local hospitals.
Videos about our labor and delivery services
Personalized Maternity Care & Childbirth in Kansas City
Just as every baby is precious and unique in its own way, so is every pregnancy. That’s why at HCA Midwest Health, we focus on listening to your wants and needs, so we can help you create a customized birth plan.