At BRRH, Families Receive Care Close to Home
As we begin the new year at Blue Ridge Regional Hospital (BRRH), it’s an ideal time to highlight the services we offer at the hospital that focus on new beginnings — women’s and children’s services, including maternal care. These services ensure that mothers-to-be get the proper care before and after they deliver their babies.
We are proud to offer comprehensive pre- and post-natal care, both of which are critical for ensuring an unborn or newborn baby’s health, and the mother’s health before and after birth.
When a woman is pregnant, her provider offers education on what she should and shouldn’t eat, how much and what types of exercise are safe, and the lifestyle choices she can make that best support her developing baby’s health. They also provide important education about childbirth, what to expect during labor, and her options for making her birth experience as comfortable and memorable as possible. Proper prenatal care reduces the risk for having a preterm birth, having a baby that is born at a low birth weight, and other problems.
Prenatal care is critical so we can keep close track of what’s going on with both mother and baby. Because of this close monitoring, we are able to detect any complication that occurs, such as gestational diabetes, preeclampsia (pregnancy high blood pressure), or iron-deficiency anemia. If a complication arises, we can manage it. Likewise, we have the ability to carefully watch how the baby’s growth and overall development are progressing, as well as how they are positioned.
The fact that we have state- of-the-art imaging services at BRRH means that women can get breast MRIs and mammograms, and we also offer ultrasounds for high-risk pregnancies along with 3D/4D gynecological exams, as well as pediatric ultrasounds. High-risk pregnancy ultrasounds can detect structural problems with the heart, brain, and other organs, placental problems, and amniotic fluid issues. It can also indicate whether a mother-to-be is likely to have a pre-term birth. All of these discoveries help guide how a provider will treat the patient and her unborn baby.
We also have the capability to perform gynecological surgical procedures, like hysterectomies, and fibroid and ovarian cyst removal.
Local providers in our communities do an exceptional job caring for our newborns, babies, children, and adolescents. This care is very important for new moms and their babies, because they need significant guidance on infant care, breastfeeding, and other issues that are unique to new mothers and their babies, including understanding their sleep requirements, how to comfort them, and more.
Providers are also available to advise parents of children of all ages about which vaccines should be administered. Newborns, for example, should receive hepatitis B, vitamin K, and other vaccines at birth, and as they grow and develop, they will need protection against illnesses like measles, mumps, rubella, polio, diphtheria, and more.
At BRRH, our obstetrics, gynecology, and pediatrics team members are deeply invested in giving our community the highest quality care, no matter what their needs are. They consider it an honor that our community members entrust their care to them, and we look forward to providing it for years to come.