Labor and delivery
Comprehensive labor and delivery care in Augusta, Georgia
Our compassionate childbirth specialists offer care you can be confident in.
Doctors Hospital provides family-centered maternity care throughout the Central Savannah River Area (CRSA) area. Our expert team prioritizes your safety and is eager to play a part in helping you grow your family.
Expert advice, available 24/7
Free health-related information is just a phone call away. Our nurses help you understand your symptoms, treatment options and procedures. They will also help you find a provider or specialist and schedule an appointment.
Free health-related information is just a phone call away. Our nurses help you understand your symptoms, treatment options and procedures. They will also help you find a provider or specialist and schedule an appointment.
Related specialties
Learn more about our related specialties.
Childbirth services we offer
We offer compassionate services for you during this special time, including a maternal-fetal medicine program and breastfeeding support. We also offer an on-site neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), should your newborn require any extra attention following birth.
Features of our maternity unit
Our range of maternity services is designed with your overall comfort in mind, as we work to ensure your stay with us is as seamless and safe as possible. In addition to a vast range of labor support options, when you have your baby with us, you have access to:
- 24/7 anesthesia coverage
- 29 private labor and delivery rooms
- Birth announcement ribbon posted on your door
- Breastfeeding assistance
- Couplet care, where you and your baby share a room and are cared for by a mother-baby nurse
- Daily quiet time for you and your baby
- First Tune Lullaby played to announce each baby's birth throughout the hospital
- Free childbirth classes
- Level II NICU for babies needing extra attention after birth
- Maternal-fetal medicine for high-risk pregnancies
- Operating room (OR) suites within the women's unit for Cesarean section (C-section) deliveries
- Professional baby photo opportunities
- Leading-edge infant security system and locked unit
- Staff members certified in fetal monitoring
Breastfeeding support
We are one of the only hospitals in Georgia designated by Baby-Friendly USA, an organization that prioritizes the education and support of breastfeeding. Our designation demonstrates our commitment to successful best practices in infant feeding.
Medical research continually proves the benefits associated with breastfeeding for both you and your baby. While breastfeeding may be difficult at first, it can become a healthy, natural bonding experience for many new mothers. However, if breastfeeding is not an option for you, we are still committed to ensuring you and your baby are happy and healthy.
Our entire labor and delivery nursing staff is trained in breastfeeding support, and our staff includes board-certified lactation consultants and certified lactation counselors. We also offer a breastfeeding class to help prepare you and your partner for breastfeeding where we discuss:
- Answers to common breastfeeding problems
- Basics of positioning, latching and milk supply
- How the body responds to breastfeeding
- Identifying normal newborn behaviors
- The do's and don'ts for breastfeeding success
Join the Cradle Club
We offer free childbirth and parenting classes as part of our Cradle Club.
More about our classes
The Cradle Club courses are designed to meet the educational needs of you and your family before labor, during birth and beyond the hospital stay.
Prenatal and childbirth classes help teach you about the stages of pregnancy and what to expect during childbirth and after. Birthing classes are an important part of preparing you to have a baby.
To register for pregnancy and childbirth classes, please call us at (706) 651-2229 or sign up online to attend.
Ready & Able (26 to 35 weeks)
This two-week childbirth series provides evidence-based information to help prepare you for the birth experience you want, like a medicated, low-intervention or possible C-section birth. A Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator (LCCE) provides evidence-based information for topics, including:
- Comfort techniques used in labor
- Common discomforts of pregnancy
- Medication and epidurals
- Process of labor and delivery
- Relaxation and breathing techniques
- Signs and symptoms of preterm labor
Please bring pillows and a blanket to class. Wear comfortable clothing to practice comfort measures.
Short & Sweet (26 to 35 weeks)
A two-day weekend class covering discomforts of pregnancy, the process of labor and delivery, comfort techniques used in labor, medication or epidurals, relaxation and breathing techniques. This class includes valuable information, even if you intend to use an epidural for labor and birth. Partners are strongly encouraged to attend.
Bumps, Babies and Bruises (20 to 26 weeks)
This class is recommended for parents, as well as family and friends. Common topics include general infant safety, infant CPR, as taught by the American Heart Association, as well as hands-on skills to help keep your baby safe at all times.
Big Brother/Big Sister (26 to 35 weeks)
Tour the Center for Women to see our beautiful, private maternity rooms. You will also learn about our family-centered maternity care program and how we will care for you and your baby together, as a couplet. Tours are also provided in our Ready & Able series, as well as the Short & Sweet weekend class.