Birth Planner
Shannon’s Birth Planner is here to assist you throughout your pregnancy journey—from your first visit to postpartum care. She is available to help you with:
-Finding an OB provider and/or a Pediatrician
-Signing up for Building Blocks childbirth classes
-Registration questions
-Billing and insurance questions
-Locating pregnancy resources in our community
For questions, more information, or to schedule an appointment with the Birth Planner, call 325-481-2359 or email birthplanner@shannonhealth.org.
What to Expect
When you arrive at Shannon, please enter the Women and Children’s main entrance and proceed to the registration desk. An Admissions Representative will assist you to complete any necessary paperwork and will direct you to Labor and Delivery for your care. Once you enter the Labor and Delivery unit, our team will assess your progression in a triage room, and admit you to an LDR suite. Additionally, Cesarean births take place in one of our two Surgical Delivery Suites located on the same floor, adjacent to the labor rooms.
At our beautiful Women and Children’s Hospital, we offer labor, delivery and recovery all in the same ambient birthing suite. The rooms are comfortable and home-like with areas for family members to be with patients during labor and delivery. Every ambient birthing suite is private, and mother and baby are cared for as one. Mother decides how many and which people will be with her during labor. She can even have one person with her in the event of a Cesarean section.
Pregnancy and labor is a beautiful, natural process in which most cases require nothing more than close observation and support. However, should any medical complications arise, our dream team of obstetricians are board-certified and trained to care for both normal and complicated obstetrical situations.
Our Special Care Nursery staff and pediatricians are skilled at caring for even the most complex preterm infants. Plus, our anesthetists provide around-the-clock epidural service to help ensure each patient is as comfortable as possible.
After delivery, mothers are given a spacious, quiet room that can accommodate one additional person overnight. Baby is primarily cared for in the room with mom. We minimize the time mother and baby are separated, but we also have a nursery to care for healthy babies when mom needs a rest.
We encourage family and friends, including children, to be present as mom sees fit. Unlike most hospitals, at Shannon, the visiting hours are set by mom.
Our way of caring encourages collaborative decision-making with women and their families being active partners during childbearing. We continually evaluate and revise our services to meet each family’s needs and expectations. Why? We want to be there for you during this exciting part your family’s journey.
3D Sonograms
Why 3D/4D? You’ll see more details in your baby’s features. Whose nose does he have? What are the shape of her eyes? This unique service is available to patients during their 28-32 week of pregnancy.
Sessions are 30 minutes in length and are available:
• Tuesday mornings – Shannon Clinic Harris, 220 E. Harris
• Thursday afternoons – Shannon Clinic Harris, 220 E. Harris & Shannon Imaging Center, 3301 S. Bryant
Limited appointments are available, so we encourage you to call and reserve a time as early as possible. Sessions are $100 and the fee is due at the time of your appointment.
If you have any questions or would like to schedule a session, please call Kathy at 325-481-8888. We look forward to providing you and your family with this special keepsake!
Non-Invasive Fetal Testing
Non-invasive fetal testing provides a safe way for obstetricians to determine if there are chromosome abnormalities present in a developing baby. This form of testing, also called cell-free DNA (cfDNA) screening, is available at each Shannon OB/GYN office.
This screening blood test is done after 10 weeks pregnancy. For the test, DNA from the baby is extracted from a maternal blood sample and tested for the presence of several specific chromosome problems, such as Down syndrome. The test also identifies the baby’s sex.
Your OB may recommend non-invasive fetal testing for several reasons:
You have certain risk factors for having a baby with a chromosomal condition, including maternal age past 35 or if you have previously given birth to a baby with a chromosomal condition.
If you are the carrier of an X-linked recessive disorder, such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy or hemophilia, knowing the sex of the baby is important and can be determined earlier than with an ultrasound.
Early prenatal care is important. Until recently, the test was only offered to high-risk women, but now it is frequently offered to all pregnant women who start prenatal care early in pregnancy.
This type of prenatal screening poses no physical risks for you or your baby. There are some limitations to the testing and your doctor will determine if this testing method is appropriate for you and your baby. For more information, please consult your OB provider.