What to expect when you visit the hospital
Arriving at the hospital
When it's time to go to Queensway Carleton Hospital and you arrive, you will enter the Main Entrance to the hospital and ask to be directed or follow the directional signs to the Childbirth Centre.
If you arrive after 11:00 pm, you will enter through the Emergency Department and be directed to the Childbirth Centre, as the Main Entrance is locked for security purposes after this time.
Once you arrive in the Childbirth Centre, you will be registered or admitted by the Patient Registration or Birth Unit Clerk and seen by a Registered Nurse for assessment.
Please note that the Unit is locked for the protection of mothers and babies. Use the telephone next to the Childbirth Centre door to gain access to the Unit.
Queensway Carleton Hospital Maps
Birth Unit Triage
When you arrive in the Childbirth Program you will be assessed in the Birth Unit Triage. This a four-bed assessment area where a Registered Nurse will take your vital signs, listen to your baby and perform other assessments depending on the reason for your visit. The Nurse will have the Physician on-call see you or will contact the Physician by phone for orders. Based on assessments made by the Nurse and the Physician, decisions will be made to either discharge you home or admit you to a Labour and Delivery Room.
Labour and Delivery Room
Each Labour and Delivery Room in the Birth Unit is a private birthing suite with a private bathroom with a jetted whirlpool tub, a sleep chair for your partner or support person and all the equipment needed to safely delivery your baby. This is where you will labour, deliver your baby, and recover afterwards for about 1-2 hours under the care of a Registered Nurse. You will then be moved to the Mother Baby Unit where you and baby will be provided care for the remainder of your hospital stay.
Birth Unit Operating Room
If you require a Caesarean section, the Birth Unit is equipped with its own operating room to ensure the safe delivery of your baby. It is staffed by the Registered Nurses and Physicians who work in the Birth Unit. This means that the Nurse and Physician caring for you during your labour will be present in the Operating Room to continue to support you during your Caesarean birth.