Lakewood Ranch Medical Center Introduces Birth Designer Program
The Women's Center at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center (LWRMC) is the first in the community to offer a Birth Designer to help expectant mothers create the personalized birth plan of their choice. The goals of the Birth Designer Program are to deliver the most patient-centered care possible and to help educate expectant mothers and their support teams on the tools they will need to stay safe and healthy during the prenatal, delivery and postpartum periods. Creating customized birth plans is a key component of the program.
Patients also receive information from the Birth Designer and at childbirth classes about things they may choose to help aid in relaxation during labor and delivery, such as massage, visualization, breathing, music, and having an epidural for pain relief.
“The Birth Designer Program is a great addition to our Women’s Center and is offered at no cost to expectant mothers delivering at Lakewood Ranch Medical Center," said Andy Guz, CEO at LWRMC. "This program was designed to ensure that the expectant mothers and their support teams, staff and physicians are all on board with the birth plan constructed for each individual.”
Chrissy Coney, RN, BSN, CLC, is the Birth Designer at LWRMC's Women’s Center. She has more than 11 years of experience with eight years as a labor and delivery nurse. Chrissy earned a bachelor's degree in nursing from the University of South Florida in Tampa and a bachelor's degree in biology from Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I. She resides in Lakewood Ranch with her husband and is excited to use her experience to help expecting mothers in the new Birth Designer role.
“My role as a Birth Designer is to help deliver the most patient-centered care possible," said Chrissy. "Everyone — doctors, staff and patient — is involved with the birth plan constructed for each individual. Expectant mothers hear birth-experience stories from their friends and relatives, but they’re unfamiliar with the ‘behind-the-scenes’ process. We have a high standard of safety at LWRMC. If expectant mothers understand the entire labor and delivery picture prior to hospital admittance, they're better able to choose the best birth-experience pathway for them, based on their individualized desires and healthcare needs, and within the safety net of the hospital.”
The Women’s Center at LWRMC also provides a dedicated nursery and neonatologist.