Overview
Why Choose Cleveland Clinic for Having Your Baby?
Obstetricians and gynecologists offer specialized care for women, including comprehensive prenatal care, labor and delivery, preventive health screenings and general gynecology. If necessary, the expertise of other gynecologic specialists is available in areas such as infertility, high-risk obstetrics and gynecologic cancer.
When it's time to bring your baby into the world, we’re with you every step of the way. That includes providing comfortable rooms with state-of-the-art technology to monitor and treat any problems that might arise during labor. We provide an environment where you can comfortably give birth with low lighting, lounge chairs, birthing balls and water-birthing tubs in some centers.
A Range of Birthing Options
Women and babies benefit from world-class medical expertise in a family-focused environment. Cleveland Clinic offers three tiers of obstetrical services:
- Ob/Gyns: for low-and medium-risk obstetrical services
- Midwife Services: for low-risk obstetrical services
- Maternal-Fetal Medicine Specialists: for management of high-risk pregnancies
Our birthing hospitals support mothers who opt for a natural birthing experience. Hypnobirthing and tubs for water laboring are available options, and we provide birthing balls, experienced labor coaches and a tranquil environment to cater to your birth plan needs.
Perinatal Care for Trauma Patients
Cleveland Clinic also provides specialized care for patients whose perinatal experiences may be affected by previous traumatic events. The M-Power Program is designed to care for patients who have experienced assault, physical or sexual abuse, previous childbirth trauma or other significant life events.
Our goal is to provide you with the best possible perinatal experience and outcomes. Nurses specially trained in trauma-informed care put your needs first, and provide you with confidential and compassionate support. This holistic approach ensures that you feel prepared for labor, delivery and the postpartum period.
The M-Power Program is available to obstetric patients planning to deliver at a Cleveland Clinic hospital. To speak with our team, please call 888.216.4012 or email mpower@ccf.org.
Ohio locations:
- Akron General
- Fairview
- Hillcrest
- Main Campus
- Mercy
- Union Hospital
Florida locations:
- Indian River Hospital
- Martin North Hospital
- Tradition Hospital
Baby-Friendly Hospitals
Among our birthing hospitals, you can choose a center with a Baby-Friendly designation, an initiative sponsored by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to encourage and recognize hospitals that offer optimal care for infant feeding. Akron General, Fairview and Hillcrest hospitals are all designated as Baby-Friendly.
Infant and Maternal Health
All pregnancies deserve the right support to be healthy pregnancies. That’s why we’ve created our new Center for Infant and Maternal Health. At your first Ob/Gyn appointment, we’ll listen to your needs. Whether it’s help getting to and from your appointments, food, housing or arranging childcare, we’ll connect you to our community partners to help you have a healthy pregnancy.
Let Us Help You Prepare for Your Baby's Arrival
Find a Pediatrician
Cleveland Clinic Children's, provides world-class care for our littlest patients at 40+ convenient locations throughout Northeast Ohio. Children and families receive compassionate care from nationally and internationally renowned pediatricians and pediatric sub-specialists. To find a pediatrician near you and to conveniently self-schedule online, visit clevelandclinicchildrens.org/pediatricians.
Birthing Hospitals
Fairview Hospital
Fairview Hospital’s Birthing Center offers the highest level of birthing care, so you can feel confident that we are prepared for the unexpected. Our state-of-the-art facility offers exceptional medical care in a comfortable environment.
- Only Level III NICU on the West Side
- Staffed with 24/7 Ob/Gyn coverage, experienced nurses and lactation nurses who are coaches and confidants
- Specially-equipped operating rooms for Cesarean births
- We accommodate birthing preferences by working closely with your obstetrician and/or midwife
- We also offer natural birthing suites in our Fairview Family Birth Place designed to provide a comfortable, natural experience
Schedule a Maternity Tour at Fairview Hospital
Hillcrest Hospital
Hillcrest Hospital’s Family Maternity Center provides a range of birthing experiences and the highest level of birthing care.
- Only Level III NICU on the East Side
- Staffed with highly skilled nursing professionals and lactation consultants
- Specially-equipped operating rooms for Cesarean births
- Renovated family maternity center
Schedule a Maternity Tour at Hillcrest Hospital
Akron General
Akron General's New Life Center is prepared for any type of delivery and need for the baby, including onsite Level III NICU services, staffed by Akron Children’s Hospital neonatologists. Our Maternity Services provide personalized care, so that each labor and delivery experience is unique.
- Take comfort in knowing you have access to Cleveland Clinic care at Akron General
- Special Care Nursery and Level III NICU services
- Labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum suites are located in a comfortable, secure environment
- Specialists in Maternal Fetal Medicine and Neonatology are available for high-risk moms and babies
- Specially-equipped operating rooms for Cesarean births
- Breastfeeding and lactation support
- Variety of childbirth and parenting classes for moms and dads
Schedule a Maternity Tour at Akron General
Union Hospital
Union Hospital’s Maternity Center is designed for the needs of mothers and their babies with a warm, family-centered environment. From prenatal education to the time the new family goes home, the staff of the Maternity Center is committed to making childbirth a rewarding experience for you and your family, including:
- Board-certified physicians to deliver and care for your new baby
- Knowledge and experience to manage routine and high-risk pregnancies
- Friendly, caring staff who make you feel at home
- Family support through Childbirth Education, Lactation Consultation and Orientation Tours
Mercy Hospital
Mercy Hospital is your partner in childbirth and values your wishes before, during and after labor, giving you as many choices as possible. The staff at Mercy Hospital strives to give you the birth experience you want, which may include:
- Developing your own birth plan
- Different labor and birthing positions
- Innovative techniques and supportive devices during labor, including hydrotherapy, peanut balls, birthing balls, and more
- Delayed umbilical cord clamping
- Delayed newborn bath, which helps with thermal regulation, blood sugar stability, and breastfeeding
- Focus on the Golden Hour immediately after birth, giving your baby the best progression to life outside of the womb
- Full-time lactation consultant who offers free breastfeeding guidance and consultation before and after discharge
- A variety of childbirth and newborn classes for expecting and new parents
What We Treat
Common Pregnancy Concerns
There are several conditions that can affect your baby's development. Please select a condition to learn more about it.
High-risk Pregnancy Care
Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)
Among our birthing hospitals, we offer the highest level of care for neonatal diagnosis, surgery and rehabilitation. Level III NICUs are on-site at Fairview and Hillcrest hospitals, as well as Cleveland Clinic Children’s main campus.
Maternal-Fetal Medicine (High-risk Pregnancy)
We realize that pregnancy can be a stressful and emotionally challenging time for many families, and we have the expertise and resources to help, whether you have an underlying medical condition, problems with poor pregnancy outcomes, or a suspected or known problem with your baby (fetus).
Special Delivery Unit
The Special Delivery Unit at Cleveland Clinic Children's offers women with serious health conditions and women who are carrying babies with known birth defects a compassionate, family-centered setting for labor and delivery. The unit has labor and delivery suites, an operating room for Cesarean sections, an advanced newborn resuscitation and treatment room, and an adjoining Interventional Pediatric Cardiac Catheterization Lab. A pediatric surgical suite is located nearby.
Midwife Services
Today, midwives are educated, licensed professionals who provide quality, "client centered" health care within a mainstream health care delivery system. Midwives provide comprehensive maternity care from the first visit through labor and delivery and after birth. They lend a sense of compassion, mutual respect and companionship to the birthing experience. They encourage parents to participate actively in all aspects of their care and to prepare themselves physically and emotionally for the birth of their child.
Midwives recognize that birth is a natural process, not a disease. They strive to facilitate labors so that few, if any, interventions will be necessary. Midwives respect the decisions made by each family about the birth experience and make every attempt to abide by those decisions, as long as the safety of the mother and child are preserved.
Throughout the pregnancy, midwives and expectant mothers have the privilege of getting to know each other on a personal level. Midwives are always available to listen to the many concerns of an expectant family, and respond to those concerns. They encourage the involvement of the expectant father or other support person in all aspects of prenatal care, delivery and support after birth.
Midwives provide instructions on many aspects of childbearing, including mother and infant care, nutrition, exercise and breast-feeding. They offer advice on family-related issues, such as birth control methods, introducing siblings to a new baby and what to expect during the first few weeks at home with a newborn.
Appointments & Locations
Appointments
To make an appointment with one of our obstetricians or gynecologists, please call 800.223.2273.
If you would like to schedule an appointment with Cleveland Clinic Akron General’s Maternity Services, please call 330.344.8565.
To contact our Medline, please call 866.733.6363.
Locations
Cleveland Clinic Family Maternity Centers are conveniently located at the following locations:
Classes & Groups
Childbirth & Parenting Classes
Adding to your family can be exciting, moving, thrilling and even a little scary. Let our caregivers help you prepare before, during and after the birth of your child. Classes are not limited to which hospital you have chosen to give birth at.
CenteringPregnancy® Groups
CenteringPregnancy® is group prenatal care that prepares expectant patients for the challenges and excitement of labor, delivery and parenting. These two-hour appointments conducted over ten sessions offer expectant patients one-on-one care with a provider as well as group time with eight to ten other patients in similar stages of pregnancy. Centering offers significantly more time with a provider than traditional prenatal appointments and allows expectant patients to learn and share experiences in a relaxed and supportive environment.
For more information about CenteringPregnancy or to find out about current Centering groups and locations, email CenteringPregnancy@ccf.org or leave a voicemail at 216.491.7200.
Support Groups
Breastfeeding Support Groups
Hillcrest Hospital North Campus (Virtual)
Days: Thursdays and Fridays
Time: 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
For an appointment, please call 440.312.5332.
Independence Family Health Center (In-person)
Day: Thursdays
Time: 10 to 11:30 a.m.
By appointment only, to schedule call 216.986.4000.
Support for Black and Brown Moms
Melanin Rich (Virtual)
Day: Wednesdays
Times: 10 to 11 a.m. and 6 to 7 p.m.
For an appointment, please call 440.312.5332.
New Moms' Discussion Group
Day: Thursdays
Time: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Cost: Free
Location: Hillcrest Hospital North Campus
Superior and Ontario Rooms
6777 Mayfield Road
Mayfield Heights, OH 44124
For more information about attending, please call 440.312.4647. Remember to bring your baby, blanket and toys.
Stork's Nest
A free prenatal health education program for women and their partners. Learn about yourself and your baby, while earning points for new baby items at the Stork’s Nest Store.
Day: 3rd Saturday of the month
Time: 9 a.m. to noon
Cost: Free
Location: Stephanie Tubbs Jones Health Center
13944 Euclid Avenue
East Cleveland, OH 44112
For more information about attending, please call 216.761.4447.
Breastfeeding Medicine Consults (in-person only)
Breastfeeding can be challenging at first. Receive individual support at a private, in-person appointment with a breastfeeding medicine specialist/physician at our Breastfeeding Medicine Center. Learn more.
Resources
Health Essentials
Want more information about pregnancy and childbirth?
eNewsletter for Parents
Get the latest information on your child's health and wellness straight to your inbox from our experts. Our Health Essentials eNewsletter for Parents is dedicated to encouraging good health and wellness for you and your family. Each issue offers health information for parents and children as well as a healthy recipe, tips for living well from Cleveland Clinic experts and much, much more.
Podcasts
Cleveland Clinic's Health Essentials Podcast:
Protecting Your Baby from Zika Virus
The Zika virus is an arbovirus transmitted by mosquitoes. The Zika virus is thought to be linked to a rise in the cases of a birth defect called microcephaly. This defect leaves a baby with an abnormally small head and a shorter life expectancy. The baby’s brain is also small and is not completely developed.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) performed lab tests that suggest a link between the Zika virus and some of the more than 3,500 babies born in Brazil with microcephaly in 2015. The CDC is advising women who are pregnant or thinking of becoming pregnant to avoid going to countries in South America, Central America, Mexico and the Caribbean.
