At Baptist Health System, we have a wide variety of high-level pregnancy care and maternity services that can cater to your needs wherever you are on your prenatal journey; whether it’s your first ultrasound check, you’re a few weeks away from giving birth to your baby or if you need specialized care for a high-risk pregnancy, The Nest and our team is here for you.

We also offer the following services and privileges:

• Breastfeeding support and lactation center services
• Childbirth education classes
• Concierge navigator program
• Midwifery services
• Newborn and birth portraits and videos
• Private gourmet meal for you and your support person

As you approach your due date, you will be looking for any little sign that labor is about to start. You might notice that your baby has "dropped" or moved lower into your pelvis. This is called "lightening." If you have a pelvic exam during your prenatal visit, your doctor might report changes in your cervix that you cannot feel, but that suggest your body is getting ready. For some women, a flurry of energy and the impulse to cook or clean, called "nesting," is a sign that labor is approaching.

Some signs suggest that labor will begin very soon. Call your doctor or midwife if you have any of the following signs of labor, even if it's weeks before your due date — you might be going into preterm labor. Your doctor or midwife can decide if it's time to go to the hospital or if you should be seen at the office first.

• You have contractions that become stronger at regular and increasingly shorter intervals.
• You have lower back pain and cramping that does not go away.
• Your water breaks (can be a large gush or a continuous trickle).
• You have a bloody (brownish or red-tinged) mucus discharge. This is probably the mucus plug that blocks the cervix. Losing your mucus plug usually means your cervix is dilating (opening up) and becoming thinner and softer (effacing). Labor could start right away or may still be days away.

Cesarean delivery, also called c-section, is surgery to deliver a baby. The baby is taken out through the mother's abdomen. Most cesarean births result in healthy babies and mothers. But c-section is major surgery and carries risks. Healing also takes longer than with vaginal birth.

Most healthy pregnant women with no risk factors for problems during labor or delivery have their babies vaginally. Still, the cesarean birth rate in the United States has risen greatly in recent decades. Today, nearly 1 in 3 women have babies by c-section in this country. The rate was 1 in 5 in 1995.

It is important for pregnant women to get the facts about c-sections before they deliver. Women should find out what c-sections are, why they are performed, and the pros and cons of this surgery.

Your doctor might recommend a c-section if she or he thinks it is safer for you or your baby than vaginal birth. Some c-sections are planned. But most c-sections are done when unexpected problems happen during delivery. Even so, there are risks of delivering by c-section. Limited studies show that the benefits of having a c-section may outweigh the risks when:

• The mother is carrying more than one baby (twins, triplets, etc.)
• The mother has health problems including HIV infection, herpes infection, and heart disease
• The mother has dangerously high blood pressure
• The mother has problems with the shape of her pelvis
• There are problems with the placenta
• There are problems with the umbilical cord
• There are problems with the position of the baby, such as breech
• The baby shows signs of distress, such as a slowed heart rate
• The mother has had a previous c-section