After Pregnancy
After Your Pregnancy
At Carondelet Health Network, our dedication to you and your family doesn’t stop after you leave the hospital. We’re here to continue to support you through the next stages of both you and your child’s life. This includes offering support groups designed to help you navigate the challenges of childbirth and raising your child.
Our Support Groups
Breastfeeding Support Group
A support group for new mothers and their infants. Visit with other moms; receive support from lactation specialists; share experiences and more! Call (520) 873-1609.
Postpartum Support Group
We have a support group for women who are pregnant or who are transitioning into their role as a new mother. Some mothers also suffer from postpartum depression and anxiety, and this group also provides them with support and comfort. Our program at St. Joseph’s Hospital has served as a national model for other hospitals’ support groups on postpartum depression.
For information on dates and times of our support groups, please call our Family Support Center at (520) 873-3887 or send an email to [email protected].
Mom and Baby Care
From Lactation Services to the NICU, We Have You Both Covered
After the birth of your child, it’s important that you have time to recover in comfort and ensure you and your baby receive the care you need. At Carondelet St. Joseph’s Hospital and Holy Cross Hospitals, you and your baby will be well taken care of during your stay.
Couplet Care
At Carondelet St. Joseph’s, we follow an approach known as Couplet Care that helps ensure you and your baby are able to stay together as much as possible to help deepen your bond. Every step of the way, you’ll be supported by compassionate and knowledgeable staff who have expertise in caring for newborns.
Lactation Services
For mothers who want to breastfeed, we offer Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC) with extensive clinical knowledge and expertise to provide the support and education you need.
If you’d prefer to learn about breastfeeding before your hospital stay, we offer the Breastfeeding Basics class taught by a Lactation Consultant. When you’re in the hospital, a Lactation Consultant can come to your room to answer your questions and assist you with breastfeeding.
Our goal is to promote successful breastfeeding. After your hospital stay, you are welcome to attend our breastfeeding support group for additional advice or simply to share your experience.
Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
If your child requires special care due to premature birth, illness or complications during childbirth, Carondelet St. Joseph’s Hospital is prepared with our certified Level II neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Our team is able to care for babies that need extra care and support during the first days of their lives. We encourage you to interact and be an active participant in your child’s care during his or her time at the NICU. Learn more about the NICU.
Newborn Screenings
The Newborn Screening Program at the Carondelet is designed to detect newborns with health problems that can be treated, help to start treatment early in life and prevent developmental delays or other problems. You can help by making sure your baby is screened before he or she leaves the hospital and then taking your baby to your healthcare provider or clinic for a second screening at 7-14 days of age.
How the Newborn Screening Works
To begin the screening process, we start by taking tiny samples of blood from your baby’s heel about two days after birth, then we send the samples to the Arizona Department of Health Services in Phoenix for testing. Tests are repeated one to two weeks later with your healthcare provider. If the screening tests show a possible health problem, your baby will need a follow-up.
For some conditions, your healthcare team may start treating the baby right away. If your child has a health problem, acting early is important. If your healthcare provider asks you to bring your baby in for a follow-up test, do so as soon as possible.
- Be sure to give your correct address and phone number to the hospital or healthcare provider.
- If you don’t have a telephone, leave the phone number of a friend, relative or neighbor with the healthcare provider or hospital.
- If you move soon after your baby is born, let your healthcare provider know right away, so they can reach you if your child needs a follow-up test.
Hearing Screening
A hearing screening is important for your newborn baby because it is one of the most common birth disabilities. Language learning starts at birth, so if your baby can’t hear, learning to speak will be difficult. If you find hearing loss early, your baby can get help. Also, if you start before your baby is 6 months old, he or she may learn a language like babies who do not have hearing loss.
After your baby’s hearing is screened, you will be given either a “Pass” or a “Refer” result. “Pass” means that your baby can hear well enough to learn a language. It is important to keep track of how your baby’s language skills develop. Sometimes, hearing problems develop later in a baby’s life.
“Refer” means that your baby needs to have more tests. Referring does not mean that your baby definitely has hearing loss. It does mean that it is important to test your baby again. The hospital or your baby’s healthcare provider will help you get this test.
Critical Congenital Heart Disease Screening (CCHD)
Critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) represents a group of heart defects that cause serious, life-threatening symptoms and requires intervention within the first days or first year of life. CCHD is often treatable if detected early. It can encompass abnormalities in the rhythm of the heart, as well as a wide array of structural heart problems.
These problems can range from mild (never requiring cardiac surgery) to severe (requiring multiple different stages of open-heart surgeries). CCHD can involve abnormal or absent chambers, holes in the heart, abnormal connections in the heart, and abnormalities in the function or squeeze of the heart. Most congenital heart conditions affect patients from childhood through adulthood.
Some babies affected with CCHD may look and act healthily at first, but within hours or days after birth they can have serious complications. Pulse oximetry newborn screening is a non-invasive test that measures how much oxygen is in the blood and can help to identify babies that may be affected with CCHD before they leave the newborn nursery. If detected early, infants affected with CCHD can often be treated and lead longer, healthier lives.
Learn More
You can find additional information about newborn screening on the Arizona Department of Health Services website.
Information on specific critical congenital heart defects can be found on the Centers for Disease Control website.