The team caring for you during your baby's birth will include a Kaiser Permanente doctor or midwife, a labor and delivery nurse, and your chosen support people. Working together, this dedicated team manages your care and supports a safe, calm environment for you and your baby.
You’ll have the full support of a team of experienced, caring professionals who are ready to give you and your baby the care you need throughout the childbirth process. Our labor and delivery care teams have rotating schedules, so the doctor or midwife may not be the same person you were seeing before delivery. But you can feel confident knowing every member of your team is highly trained and committed to providing you and your baby with safe, personalized care.
At Kaiser Permanente hospitals and affiliated medical facilities, a dedicated care team supports you and your baby through birth. They manage any health concerns and help keep your growing family safe. We also welcome the support people you choose. Working together with respectful communication creates a calm, positive environment.
When you’re a member, your prenatal care team, personal doctor or midwife, and labor and delivery team are all connected through your electronic health record. Having an experienced care team who knows your health history means you’re in highly capable hands. Our collaborative approach and commitment to keeping you and your baby safe, while respecting your birth preferences, make Kaiser Permanente a wonderful place to have a baby.
Here are the people who will help you bring your baby into the world:
A doctor or midwife will be there to help you deliver your baby. In many Kaiser Permanente facilities, physicians and midwives work together so they can give you more personalized care and attention during labor. All our doctors and midwives have rigorous training — and plenty of experience — so you and your little one will be in very capable hands.
Your partner, family members, friends, or a doula can be a vital part of your birth experience. A doula is a trained professional who offers physical, emotional, and informational support. If you’d like a doula on your support team, you’ll need to select a doula before your delivery day.1 While your support people don't make clinical decisions or perform medical tasks, they play an important role in keeping you comfortable and helping you communicate your birth preferences to your care team.
Your labor and delivery nurse will be with you frequently throughout your delivery. After your baby is born, another team of nurses will step in to care for you and your little one, and help you get comfortable breastfeeding.
An anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist specializes in providing safe and effective medical treatments to help you manage pain. Before delivery day, you can share your preferences about medical or nonmedical pain management with your care team. You can also adjust your preferences during your baby’s birth.
A resident (doctor in training), medical student, or midwifery student is sometimes present to observe and assist, working closely under the supervision of your experienced care team.
An on-call specialist will be available to attend your birth if there are unexpected complications. Your care team can quickly bring in other clinicians to support you if a more serious health concern calls for added expertise.
A pediatrician will do a thorough newborn exam after your baby is born. In some cases, a pediatrician may be there during your delivery.
If your labor extends past your care team's shift, they'll inform the next team about your medical history, current condition, and birth preferences.
If you need a cesarean birth, you can generally have one support person in the room. Your surgery will be performed by a doctor and their assistant, while an anesthesia clinician manages your pain. If you need general anesthesia, your care team may ask all support people to leave for safety reasons so the team can move quickly.
To help keep you and your baby safe and ensure the best experience possible, it's important that everyone understands the guidelines at our facilities. Your care team will do their best to honor your birth preferences and support the experience you want. They may sometimes need to adjust your care based on medical needs and the care required to protect your and your baby’s health.
At Kaiser Permanente, only staff can perform clinical tasks. Support people, including doulas, can't perform clinical duties, such as:
If you or your baby needs immediate help — for example, if you feel the urge to push without your care team in the room — you or your support person should use the call button by the bed or in the bathroom. We may ask support people to leave if their actions put your or your baby’s safety at risk. To help keep you safe, our staff will need access to you and your baby to provide care.
No, your doula can’t make clinical decisions or perform medical tasks. Doulas provide physical, emotional, and informational support, and they help communicate your preferences to your care team.
If you need a cesarean birth, you can have one support person in the operating room to stay by your side while the obstetrician and anesthesia clinician care for you.
Footnotes
1. Your plan may cover doula services. See your Evidence of Coverage for details.
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