Your pregnancy is a special occasion for you and your family. At this time, ensuring the health of yourself and your unborn child are of utmost importance.

UC Davis Maternity Services provide the personal touch you want and the outstanding medical care you need. Our maternity services are provided by highly qualified board-certified health professionals who are trained in the most modern prenatal and perinatal care. As part of a large university medical center, UC Davis Medical Group doctors work as a team, providing you easy access to specialists for consultation on your unique health concerns.

With UC Davis Maternity Services you choose the practitioner who will care for you during your pregnancy and at delivery. You can have your own UC Davis family doctor monitor your pregnancy. Or, if you prefer, you can select an obstetrician to care for you. You also have the option of being cared for by a nurse practitioner, a registered nurse who has additional training, experience and certification in obstetrical care. UC Davis is one of the few maternity services in the area that offers nurse practitioner care.

Many hospitals do not have an anesthesiologist on duty around the clock. At UC Davis Medical Center, we are prepared for any unexpected situation that might arise, and we always have an anesthesiologist on duty. That's important for women who require a Cesarean section or need pain management during delivery.

At UC Davis Medical Center only registered nurses provide hospital care for new mothers and infants. Our highly skilled nurses have received extra training in caring for normal and high-risk pregnant women and newborn infants. During your stay at the medical center, they continually monitor your progress and that of your baby. The nurses quickly recognize any health concerns that require immediate intervention. If you're a first-time parent, the nurses can provide valuable advice and guidance in caring for your precious new arrival. In addition to outstanding nursing care, we provide peace of mind with our highly effective infant security system.

If you choose breastfeeding for your baby, there will be some important nutritional advantages over bottle feeding. While all mothers want the best for their little ones, breastfeeding is a skill that can take time to learn. All UC Davis perinatal nurses are trained to teach you how to breast feed. If you have special needs or concerns, an on-staff lactation consultant can provide you additional guidance. Our breastfeeding clinic is available to help later on if you need it.

Certain high-risk conditions — such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease — place women at greater risk of complications during pregnancy. If you have a health condition that makes your pregnancy high-risk, our perinatologists provide the extra care and guidance you need. Our experienced perinatologists are available 24 hours a day in the hospital to ensure that any complications are handled immediately. Additionally, if you have concerns about a specific genetic matter, we offer access to genetic counseling and testing.

While we always hope for a healthy, full-term infant, our hopes are not always realized. Sometimes an infant is born prematurely and/or with a serious health problem. If that happens, you'll have immediate access to the most advanced technology and specialists available. UC Davis Medical Center has a children's hospital within a hospital. Our regional intensive care nursery is staffed with experts who regularly treat premature infants or those with life-threatening disorders. You can be assured that your infant will be cared for by a team of experts that includes pediatric subspecialists, nurses, social workers, and respiratory therapists. Working under the guidance of nationally recognized neonatologists, the health care team will diagnose the infant's problem and develop a treatment plan that will give him or her the best chance of a normal, healthy life. Our team provides a level of care that is unmatched by any other hospital in the area.  

We want to stay in touch after you and your new baby leave the hospital. If you have questions about caring for your infant, you can call and speak with a registered nurse 24 hours a day.

The nurse can answer questions and provide input on the difficult questions that all new mothers and fathers face. We also understand that some mothers and babies have special needs that require follow-up care after they leave the hospital. UC Davis can provide a home health care nurse who will visit your home to help you with special needs. Many health plans cover the cost of these visits.

When it's time to give birth, most women prefer a comfortable, home-like setting to a sterile hospital room. Our specially-appointed Birthing Suites are large private rooms with upholstered chairs, wood furniture, and private showers. Each room has a fold-out bed so family members can comfortably spend the night. There's no better place to get to know the newest member of your family. Plus, when you use our Birthing Suites, you will remain in one room for labor, delivery, and recovery. UC Davis Medical Center provides for a 48-hour stay for all mothers and infants.

The new Davis Wing of the hospital includes a 22,738 square-foot Birthing Center with facilities to accommodate up to 23 patients in various phases of the delivery process. The unit contains waiting areas for visitors, a delivery suite and a newborn nursery, giving the mother the option of having her baby in the nursery or "rooming-in" where she keeps her baby with her.

If you've just found out that your special time is here, you'll want to carefully consider your choices for maternity care. To help you make your decision, you can arrange a private tour of our birthing suites and maternity care facilities by calling (916) 703-Baby (2229). After you look at the specialists, birthing environmnent, and perinatal care offered by UC Davis, you'll see that we provide the special touch you need.

Almost every major health plan in the area offers you access to the doctors of the UC Davis Medical Group and Maternity Services at the UC Davis Medical Center. Call 800-2-UCDAVIS (800-282-3284) for information about insurance and choosing a UC Davis doctor, certified nurse midwife or nurse practitioner. Get the special touch that you and your baby deserve — choose a UC Davis Medical Group doctor and UC Davis Maternity Services as your health-care provider.