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This Labor Day weekend, Ochsner Health hospitals are among many community assets that never close. And while some may spend the holiday boating or picnicking, others are laboring — growing their family, nurturing a tiny new life or making a huge health decision with the guidance of dedicated providers at Ochsner Birthing Centers and Neonatal Intensive Care Centers in Baton Rouge, New Orleans and Lafayette.
“The passion that everyone has here is second to none, from the neonatologists who specialize in conditions that affect newborns to the housekeeping staff who take steps to reduce the risk of infection to the nurse educators who are constantly researching to make sure we do right by our patients,” said Meagan Fruge Daigle, regional director, maternal-newborn and pediatrics services at Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center (OLGMC). “There are so many people involved every step of the way. It takes the whole group to make sure our patients can have the best possible outcomes.”
It’s a practice in partnership unique to Ochsner’s Family Birthing Centers. In Acadiana, OLGMC is the only hospital providing intensive care services to mothers and babies under one roof. Ochsner Family Birthing Centers in Baton Rouge and New Orleans are the only hospitals in those regions giving families access to midwives, OB/GYNs and intensive care adult and neonatal specialists in a single location.
“It really is such a beautiful partnership between my midwife colleagues, my doctor colleagues, with our NICU team, nurses, pediatricians and maternal fetal medicine doctors,” said Allison D. Hillebrandt, CNM, Midwifery, Ochsner Health Center – O’Neal, Baton Rouge. “We all work really closely together.”
Ochsner Health has also taken steps to share that training and knowledge with staff at its rural hospitals, including Ochsner American Legion Hospital in Jennings. Daigle recalled that pediatricians and nurses in Jennings immediately stepped in earlier this year when an ambulance arrived with a baby that had been born at home at just 26 weeks, weighing less than two pounds.
“This team truly did everything exactly the way it needed to be done. When the transport team arrived to take the baby to Lafayette, we were surprised at how well the baby was responding,” Daigle said. “That baby is doing well today. Because they are our sister hospital, the staff there has access to our education, training and resources that can help them care for babies in those situations.”
In Baton Rouge, clinicians are also prepared for births that happen unexpectedly and ones that go according to plan. The team includes certified nurse midwives who see women regularly throughout their pregnancies, assist during the delivery process and care for moms and babies in the first few days after birth.
“A lot of people think midwives only attend home births, but many of us also work in birth centers and hospital settings,” said Hillebrandt. “We are nurse practitioners who specialize in obstetrics. Ochsner’s collaborative practice, with doctors and midwives working in the hospital together, allows us to take care of women from every background. We can accommodate their desires for their births, which can be different from one person to another.”
Hillebrandt said she and other Ochsner Health midwives work closely with moms-to-be during pregnancy using a personalized care model. Those discussions include whether a woman plans to have a vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC), a water birth or other unmedicated option, receive pain medication or an epidural, and identifying a support person to be by their side during labor and birth.
“A lot of our discussion centers around the birth plan and the mother’s goals for the labor and birth,” Hillebrandt said. “We make note of all of that and accommodate their desires to the best of our ability. In the hospital setting, we always have a doctor available.”
Hillebrandt added that some patients specifically seek out midwives for care, while others are familiar with Ochsner Health and receive a referral to a midwife who works at an Ochsner location. She is particularly proud to work for a healthcare system that embraces the midwifery model and offers it as an option to women who feel more comfortable with that type of care.
“It’s an honor to be a part of this practice,” she said. “People come from all over the region to see us. We place an emphasis on making sure women feel heard. To hear a woman say that we have redeemed the birth experience for them is one of my favorite parts of the job. We are able to walk with women through what is often a beautiful and happy time in their lives.”
Alexandra “Sashi” Band, DO, FACOG and board-certified OB/GYN at Ochsner Baptist in New Orleans, said she was drawn to the specialty because it gives her the opportunity to work with women throughout multiple life phases and transitions. Band is also medical director of the midwife program at Ochsner Baptist’s Perkin Alternative Birthing Center, the only hospital alternative birthing center in the region.
“The wonderful thing about this field is that we can focus on wellness and not just illness,” said Dr. Band, whose practice includes general check-up and annual well visits, obstetric care and deliveries, as well as gynecological care and surgery.
“I try to meet people where they are. I want women to know this is a safe place to ask questions,” Dr. Band continued. “You never want to see someone who is scared to the point that they aren’t receiving care. There’s so much in our field that is about prevention, and medicine is changing all the time. We try to evolve with the data and research so we can take better care of women and babies.”
At Ochsner Baptist, that care includes a Level IV NICU for babies who need advanced care, as well as birthing suites to provide privacy and comfort to new moms. In addition, Dr. Band said doctors and other OB/GYN practitioners are paying more attention than ever to the mental and emotional needs of moms before, during and after pregnancy.
“I think we understand now that there are times when people will need more mental health support in their lifetime,” she said. “It’s so important to encourage people to ask for help, let them know that resources are readily accessible and understand the close link between mental and physical health. That has become a big part of my relationship with my patients. I get to spend time with them to help them become their healthiest selves throughout their lives. That is an honor.”
Ochsner Health is Louisiana’s leading resource for people who are pregnant, planning to have a baby or want to maintain good reproductive health. Women, unborn babies and newborns who receive care at Ochsner Health have access to the state’s largest set of board-certified OB/GYNs and fellowship-trained specialists and subspecialists. To learn more or find a provider, visit www.ochsner.org/services/obstetrics.
