Birth Place at UPMC Horizon

UPMC Horizon is proud to partner with UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in our commitment to provide comprehensive maternity and infant care to mothers and their babies.

Located at the Shenango Valley hospital campus, Birth Place offers advanced maternity care in a comfortable, home-like setting, while wireless fetal monitoring allows our laboring patients more freedom to move around and seek comfort measures such as hydrotherapy. The labor and delivery area is on the second floor, while our mother-baby unit and level I and II nurseries are located on the third floor.

To ensure that mothers and their newborn babies are in the hands of world-class experts, our Birth Place nurses have received advanced education at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital.

UPMC Horizon offers numerous classes for expectant families and new parents.

Take a virtual tour of Birth Place at UPMC Horizon

Before your baby is born, take a virtual tour of Birth Place at UPMC Horizon. Learn about our facilities, the labor and delivery area, postpartum floor, and nursery.

Our Services

• Labor, delivery, and recovery rooms
• Antepartum/triage rooms
• Mother-baby unit
• Level I nursery
• Level II nursery
• Couplet care (mothers may have their babies stay with them in their rooms)
• Surgical suite for Caesarean sections
• Epidural availability 24 hours a day, seven days a week
• Telemedicine programs with UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital (maternal-fetal medicine) and UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (neonatology).
• Certified lactation consultant and breastfeeding counselors
• Certified car seat technician

Visitation

To keep our mothers and babies as safe as possible, visitation is limited in labor and delivery and on the mother-baby unit. The mother is permitted two designated support people, who may visit at any time and spend the night in her room.

For the safety of our mothers and babies, both the labor and delivery area and the mother-baby unit are locked 24 hours a day. Please ring the buzzer to enter either unit.

Breastfeeding

If you choose to breastfeed, our certified lactation consultant and breastfeeding counselors can assist you.

A breastfeeding support group is available the first Wednesday of the month from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at UPMC Horizon-Shenango Valley, Conference Room 2 (located inside the cafeteria). The group focuses on participants' interests, concerns, and ideas. Lactation counselors and consultants as well as a pediatrician are available to answer questions.

For more information about the breastfeeding support group, call 724-983-7962.

Other breastfeeding resources

• UPMC Health Library
• La Leche League International
• Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

Contact Information

• UPMC Horizon Birth Place — 724-983-7193 or 724-983-7962
• Magee Lactation Center — 412-641-1121
• WIC Lawrence County Adagio Health peer counselor — 1-800-942-9467
• WIC Mercer County peer counselor — 724-981-6154
• La Leche League — 412-276-5630

Learn about the Keystone 10 breastfeeding quality improvement program.

Creating a Safe Sleep Environment for Your Baby

Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the leading cause of death among infants between one month and one year of age. Help reduce your baby’s risk of SIDS by creating a safe sleep environment:

• Always place a baby on his or her back to sleep, for naps and at night, to reduce the risk of SIDS.
• Use a firm sleep surface, covered by a fitted sheet
• Your baby should not sleep in an adult bed, on a couch or on a chair alone, with you, or with anyone else.
• Keep your baby’s sleep area in the same room where you sleep. Room sharing not bed sharing. Always place the baby in a safety-approved crib, bassinet, portable crib for sleep.
• Sitting devices like bouncy seats, swings, infant carriers or strollers should not be used for routine sleep.
• Keep soft objects such as pillows and blankets, toys and bumpers out of your baby’s sleep area.
• Wedges and positioners should not be used.
• Do not smoke during pregnancy or allow smoking around your baby.
• Do not let your baby get too hot during sleep.
• Breastfeed your baby.
• Give your baby a dry pacifier that is not attached to a string for naps and at night to reduce the risk of SIDS.
• Follow health care provider guidance on your baby’s vaccines and regular health checkups.