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Designing for Mother and Baby
For the first time in eight years, fertility rates are on the rise. Healthcare providers are responding by designing facilities specific to the needs and desires of new moms. Gone are the labor and delivery rooms of old. In their place are standalone birth centers designed to cater to the full birth experience for the entire family.
Below are some photos showing some of these new types of facilities. Healthcare Design Magazine has an extensive article with photos on their website. To read the article and view the photos, click here.
Norton Women’s and Kosair Children’s Hospital in Louisville, Ky., features both private NICU rooms with flexible family work/sleep space and an open bay concept (pictured here). Credit: HKS Inc./Blake Marvin.
The private special care nursery at Park Nicollet introduces warm colors and individual animal themes for each room (the lion room pictured here) to provide a more residential nursery feel despite the acuity level of the space. Furniture includes a sleeper sofa, mobile work table, and kangaroo care recliner. Credit: © AECOM/Robb Williamson.
LDR rooms at WakeMed feature millwork specifically designed to house medical equipment until the time of delivery so that the room avoids a clinical feel. The sliding barn door to the bathroom provides a modern touch and also frees up floor space for the patient and family. Credit: Tzu Chen Photography.
Corridors and a central nurses’ station at The Mother Baby Center at United Hospital in St. Paul, Minn., were designed with special attention to the birthing mothers who are often encouraged to walk to help labor progress. The corridors are highlighted with graphics for positive distraction, benches for rest, and soft indirect lighting to help create a calming and relaxing environment. Courtesy of HDR, © 2015.
