Ochsner Medical Center (OMC) – inclusive of Ochsner Medical Center- West Bank Campus and Ochsner Baptist – earned the “High Performing in Maternity Care (Uncomplicated Pregnancy)” rating, again! This is the highest rating U.S. News & World Report awards for maternity care, and the coveted honor is reserved for the top third of hospitals evaluated by U.S. News & World Report for maternity care. Ochsner Medical Center was the only hospital in Louisiana to get a “high performing” rating by U.S. News & World Report for maternity care in 2022-2023.

Ochsner Baptist also earned the Birth Ready Plus Designation from the Louisiana Department of Health.

Obstetrics at Ochsner

Choose Ochsner Baptist for the birth of your baby. Ochsner Baptist features advanced technology in obstetrics and baby care in a comfortable, caring, and peaceful environment.

• Spacious, contemporary Labor/Delivery/Recovery suites offer everything you need to welcome your baby into the world
• Free and convenient covered parking
• A larger and more comfortable waiting room featuring a children’s area for families awaiting a new member
• Alternative birthing care at the Perkin Alternative Birthing Center, which is accredited by The Commission for the Accreditation of Birth Centers. Learn more.
• Birthing facility designated as Baby-Friendly

Prenatal Care

• Most comprehensive specialty coverage under one roof in the region
• Educational childbirth classes offered for expectant parents. Click here for class schedules. The classes cover such topics as the labor and delivery experience; vaginal delivery versus Cesarean Section delivery; Epidurals; postpartum care; car seat safety; newborn care; sibling classes for siblings; and breastfeeding. Classes are taught by our maternity nurses and our breastfeeding class is led by certified lactation consultants.
• At the end of every Prenatal class, we offer a tour of the Labor & Delivery and Mother-Baby units.
• Let Ochsner Baptist provide you with the information and care you need as you prepare for the joy of bringing a new life into the world. Learn the A’s to Z’s of your pregnancy. Click here to download the A to Z Guide to Pregnancy.
• High-Risk Maternity Specialists

Perkin Alternative Birthing Center (ABC)

• The Perkin Alternative Birthing Center features a staff of Certified Nurse Midwives who provide mothers with a natural, holistic birth experience in a homelike environment. For more information, please call 504-894-2880.
• Located in the Ochsner Baptist Women’s Pavilion, making it the only hospital-based alternative birthing center in the region.
• Midwives offer comprehensive prenatal care in the Perkin ABC clinic, where they help mothers design individual birthing plans, including water birth, labor support and alternative birth positions.
• Two birthing rooms, each set up like home with a comfortable double bed and a family room and shared kitchen for guests to relax and visit during labor and delivery.
• Each room in the ABC offers a birthing tub and birth stools.

Post-Partum Care

• Room service available for Mom and Dad.
  
• Accommodations include a comfortable place for new dads to sleep.
• Stock up and shop for items new parents will need when they bring home their new bundle of joy at the O Baby Gift Shop.
• Highest Level Neonatal Intensive Care - Ochsner Baptist Women’s Pavilion offers the highest level (Level III) Regional NICU, staffed by our experienced team of board certified neonatologists. 54 NICU beds available, including Private NICU Rooms.
• Nicview Webcams available free of charge at every NICU bay for parents who can’t be with their babies every minute, but will have access to keep an eye on their babies from a computer or smartphone day or night. Click here to find out more.
• Ochsner offers a comprehensive range of pediatric services to care for your new baby from birth all the way through adolescence. Ochsner Pediatrics specializes in comprehensive care for the whole child — from preventive care such as immunizations to life-saving efforts. Expecting parents can schedule a free prospective parent appointment with one of our Ochsner pediatricians to meet our physicians and staff and select a doctor that complements your growing family. To schedule, call 504-842-3900. Click here to find out more.

Ochsner Baptist is recognized as a Baby-Friendly birthing facility. This designation recognizes birthing facilities that offer mothers the environment, education and support needed for the most optimal birth experience. Learn more.

Baby-friendly hospitals and birth centers uphold the International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes by offering education and educational materials that promote human milk rather than other infant food and drinks, and by refusing to accept or distribute free or subsidized supplies of breast milk substitutes, nipples, and other feeding devices. Ochsner encourages breastfeeding and follows these “Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding”

• Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.
• Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy.
• Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
• Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth.
• Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation, even if they are separated from their infants.
• Give infants no food or drink other than breast milk, unless medically indicated.
• Practice rooming-in (allow mothers and infants to remain together) 24 hours a day.
• Encourage breastfeeding on demand.
• Give no artificial nipples or pacifiers to breastfeeding infants.
• Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic.

PLEASE NOTE: Prenatal Classes 1-4, Breastfeeding and Grandparents classes will be temporarily held virtually due to COVID-19 concerns. You will receive instructions for accessing the virtual class via email prior to the scheduled class time. Thank you for your patience.

View the current class schedules.

Register at ochsner.org/baptistclasses

If you have questions, email jducoing@ochsner.org

For more information on the Ochsner Baptist Women's Pavilion, click here.