Top-notch maternity care

Joy and fear … excitement and worry … the road to parenthood is filled with emotional peaks and valleys.

Kaiser Permanente members are in good hands when they take that journey, thanks to an integrated care system that allows doctors and nurses to work together to keep them healthy and safe while delivering care that’s personalized to their needs.

“We deliver more than 100,000 babies a year, yet we recognize that each family’s experience is unique,” said Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer Patrick Courneya, MD. “We strive to meet their needs every step of the way — from the point when they first start thinking about having a baby to delivery and beyond."

Members seeking maternity care experience the best of Kaiser Permanente’s coordinated approach:

• Mothers and babies receive care from highly skilled care teams including obstetricians, neonatologists, anesthesiologists, midwives, nurses, pediatricians, social workers and lactation consultants.
• Our integrated care system and electronic health record enable us to provide high-quality, coordinated care before, during and after the birth of a child.
• Prenatal classes help moms and dads prepare for every aspect of parenting — from pregnancy and childbirth to breastfeeding and infant care.
• More than 70 percent of babies born at Kaiser Permanente are exclusively breastfed while in the hospital, compared to 49 percent nationwide, according to America’s Hospitals: Improving Quality and Safety, The Joint Commission’s Annual Report 2015. That’s one of the best things moms can do to keep their babies healthy.
• Fifteen of our hospitals and eight of our affiliated hospitals have earned Baby-Friendly® designation from the global Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative.

"Our highly skilled clinical teams work to ensure the best possible experience and outcome for the baby and mother,” said Michael Kanter, MD, chief quality officer for the Permanente Federation. “We work proactively to deliver the safest and most reliable care, and when needed, we have the expertise and systems in place to respond quickly to urgent situations."

We speak baby

Check out our Care Stories blog to watch a video about one mom’s birth experience, and visit our maternity care website at kp.org/maternity to learn more about having a baby at Kaiser Permanente. It features articles, videos, checklists and other resources to guide families through every stage of this life-changing journey.