Labor and Delivery

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Labor and Delivery, a labor ward or a labour ward is a department of a hospital devoted to childbirth. In many hospitals, "Labor and Delivery" is one department and "Maternity", where a woman recovers following birth, is another. In the United States, it is common practice to move a woman from Labor and Delivery to Maternity in the hour following birth.

[edit] Benefits and drawbacks

Delivery in the birthing department of a hospital is common practice in Western culture. Benefits include facilities and equipment for an emergency caesarean section and access to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Risks include the possibility of a nosocomial infection (infection contracted in a hospital), responsible for 88,000 deaths in the United States in 1995.

[edit] History

The first maternity ward in the United States is established at Bellevue Hospital Center in 1799.

[edit] Alternatives

Alternatives to hospital delivery include birthing centers and home birth.de:Kreißsaal