The Baby Place at Peterson Health is located at the Peterson Regional Medical Center in Kerrville, Texas. Long devoted to bringing high-quality care to the greater Kerr County area, Peterson is a part of your community. Serenely settled in 14 beautifully-appointed rooms on a 35-acre campus, The Baby Place feels like home, with one exception: it’s also a highly rated obstetrics unit. Here, you can have the peaceful and planned birth of your heart’s desire…while knowing that experts in high-risk pregnancy and neonatal care stand ready if you need them.

A family-centered difference

Several features distinguish Peterson Health’s The Baby Place – and all reflect our commitment to family-centered care. The Baby Place features 14 beautifully-appointed, private rooms, creating an environment that feels more like home than a hospital. We encourage you to have a personalized birth plan and offer many services to help you make those dreams come true…including certified nurse midwives, hydrotherapy, made-to-order room service meals, and family-centered C-sections, among other amenities. During your stay, you and your guests can enjoy wireless service, cable television and an adjustable thermostat in each room. Behind all of this comfort, our doctors, Certified Nurse Midwives, and staff are among the best in their fields in the care of moms and babies, and our high-tech security system helps keep you and your baby safe and secure.

Hydrotherapy

Some moms enjoy hydrotherapy as a method to assist with labor. The Baby Place at Peterson Health has a hydrotherapy tub, which some women find improves comfort, reduces pain and reduces the need for medication during labor. Hydrotherapy can even speed labor up in some instances, and many women report feeling a greater sense of control over their labor when using hydrotherapy as part of their birth plan. However, hydrotherapy isn’t the right or safe choice for all moms and babies. If you would like to use the hydrotherapy tub during labor, discuss it with your doctor during your pregnancy to be sure it’s a safe choice for you, and let The Baby Place staff know of your wishes when you arrive for labor and delivery.

You’ll find more information about hydrotherapy at The Baby Place here.

Family-Centered C-sections

The Baby Place is turning C-sections into a family-centered experience. Many moms who have had a baby via C-section throughout the country report feeling lonely, not a part of their baby’s birth, and yearning for their baby who is often taken to a different room. The Baby Place C-section procedures are designed to reduce or eliminate these problems and make a C-section a family-centered birth!

As long as these measures are safe for you and baby, you can expect these differences in your C-section experience at The Baby Place:

• Walking to the operating room before the surgery.
• Positioning on the operating table. Not feeling so tied down.
• Your significant other may remain with you throughout your surgery.
• Viewing the birth of your infant.
• Holding your newborn sooner.
• Keeping your baby with you in the operating room as medical conditions allow.
• Your newborn going with you to the recovery room to continue the bonding process.
• The initial weight and measurements of your newborn experienced by both parents in the recovery room.

You’ll find more information about family-centered C-sections at The Baby Place here.

Aspects of Care at The Baby Place

Prenatal Care

Prenatal care, which means visiting a health care provider during pregnancy, is an important way to help your baby have the healthiest start possible. Our obstetricians (doctors who specialize in pregnancy and childbirth), Certified Nurse Midwives, and their staff can take you from confirmation of your pregnancy to the delivery of your baby. They can help you manage your nutrition, activity, medications, and any testing such as blood tests, ultrasounds or other prenatal testing. They track your baby’s development to assure that all is going well…and if there’s a problem, to address it quickly. They also can help you develop a birth plan that is safe and just right for you and your baby.

Labor and Delivery

Whether you go into labor naturally, come in for induction of labor, or arrive for a scheduled C-section, The Baby Place at Peterson Health will be ready for you. Typically, moms arriving at The Baby Place are quickly assessed and admitted to a labor-delivery-recovery suite. This home-like space will be your baby’s first room, and we’ve made it as much like home as possible. Your support person or people are welcome to join you in this room and throughout your labor and delivery. If you need a C-section, you’re encouraged to have one support person with you.

Your staff will support you in your desires for natural childbirth or in the use of medication and epidural anesthetic, whichever you prefer, as long as it’s safe for you and your baby. Labor can take several hours, and you’ll be able to move about, walk and change positions during labor. You and your guests can also enjoy diversions such as room service, wireless service, cable television and an adjustable thermostat.

Newborn Care

After a healthy baby’s birth, baby and mom are continually assessed as mom is encouraged to hold, bond and begin feeding her baby. Families are encouraged to hold baby and celebrate their first moments as a family. After things are clearly stabilized, mom and baby transfer to a private postpartum room with all the same amenities they’ve become accustomed to their labor-delivery-postpartum room. Four of The Baby Place rooms can be home for your entire stay, from labor to discharge home. Babies usually stay in the room with their moms, where they can readily breastfeed and bond. We encourage breastfeeding because we know it is the best and most natural option for optimal health for both baby and mom. As a matter of fact, we are an award-winning facility for supporting this natural step of breastfeeding. We are a Texas Ten Step recipient. Nurses care for both mom and baby as needed as the family spends the rest of their time in The Baby Place, generally 24-48 hours for a vaginal birth and 48 hours for a C-section. We answer your questions and teach you baby care basics if needed. When everyone’s ready for home, we’ll help you check your car seat for safe installation and encourage you to make that very-important first doctor’s appointment for baby. Then, you’re off to start your new life together!

Some babies are born with special needs that are beyond what can be provided in their mom’s room. For these babies, The Baby Place has neonatal professionals that can help baby with breathing, feeding, or other needs. For babies with highly critical needs, The Baby Place is part of a network of regional NICUs and able to transfer critically ill babies quickly for the highest level of care.

Post-partum Care

Just as your baby needs to see a pediatrician or family practice doctor shortly after going home, moms need follow-up care after giving birth, too. Your provider will inform you when to follow up in the office based on your needs. Some women will follow up within three days; others will follow up in two weeks and then again as directed.

If you develop increasing pain, fever, or unusual discharge after birth or aren’t feeling well, contact your physician or midwife. If you have unusual sadness, lethargy, or other signs of depression, tell your physician or midwife about these symptoms. The most significant risks to moms after birth are infection and post-partum depression. At The Baby Place, Obstetricians and Certified Nurse Midwives are here to help you through these and many other needs before, during, and after pregnancy.

Financial considerations

Most pregnancy, maternity and newborn care are covered to some degree by health insurance. Check with your insurance plan to be sure Peterson Health providers and hospital are covered under your plan. Check to see if they are in-network or out-of-network and what deductibles and co-payments you may owe as your share.

Some pregnant women qualify for Texas Medicaid, which covers most or all of the care needed for mom and baby. Medicaid eligibility is based on income, and you can have Medicaid as your only coverage or as secondary coverage if you already have another plan. Learn more about pregnancy Medicaid and its income limits for Texas residents at https://yourtexasbenefits.hhsc.texas.gov/programs/health/women/pregnant.

For help in understanding your insurance coverage, understanding upcoming charges or your bill, or applying for Medicaid, consult with a Peterson Health customer service representative/financial counselor at 830-258-7423 or by email at billing@petersonrmc.com.