Family Birth Center - Dignity Health - Northridge Hospital Medical Center

Expectant parents are invited to receive helpful information and a guided walking tour of our family birth center. Tours are offered twice a week, once a month.

• Tuesdays (monthly): 11 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

• Fridays (monthly): 1–2:15 p.m.

You may bring one partner, but no children are allowed on the tour. Please reschedule if you feel ill. Space is limited. Call (877) 417-9355 to reserve your spot.

Our labor-delivery-recovery suites are beautifully furnished and provide a home-like setting with medical equipment hidden in the room’s custom cabinetry. Your suite is equipped with advanced monitoring equipment, allowing you the freedom to walk around during labor. 

Under the guidance of your care provider, we support all birthing options, including:

• Natural childbirth (without pain medication)

• Vaginal birth

• Cesarean birth

You remain in one room during your labor, delivery and recovery, while our expert team cares for you and your baby. At Northridge Hospital Medical Center, mothers and babies room together to support bonding.

We encourage you to make a birth plan to help communicate your labor and birth preferences to your care team. We work with you to help make your labor and delivery the best it can be.

Our providers work to honor your birth plan when possible, but remember, birth can be unexpected, and their priority is you and your baby’s safety.

Yes, we offer free virtual childbirth education classes. Class topics include physical and emotional changes, what to expect during pregnancy and birth, relaxation techniques, cesarean birth and pain relief options. Partners are encouraged to attend.

We recommend registering for our live four-class series by the sixth month of pregnancy. These are held on select Wednesdays, 7–9 p.m. Call (877) 417-9355 to register.

• Class 1: Stages of Labor: Signs, Symptoms and Emergencies

• Class 2: Pain Management/Cesarean Birth

• Class 3: Breastfeeding Workshop

• Class 4: Postpartum/Parenting

We also offer in-person car seat safety checks and access to a video library for caregivers to learn tips to keep babies and children safe. For video library access or to schedule a car safety check, email Liberty Salvio.

Our multilingual mother-baby-trained nurses offer breastfeeding support. We answer your questions and help you learn to breastfeed your baby before you leave the hospital.

After going home, our in-person breastfeeding support group is available for nursing mothers. The group meets on Thursdays from 1–2 p.m.

Call the lactation department at (818) 885-8500,  ext. 22289 to sign up.

Yes, Northridge Hospital’s Women’s and Children’s Services has earned a four-year Infant Hearing Screening State Accreditation. This accreditation helps support optimal growth and development for every child.

If you arrive from 6 a.m.–8 p.m., enter through the main lobby and go to the 5th floor. If you arrive from 8 p.m.–6 a.m., enter through the Emergency Department.

Please make sure you have your:

• Insurance card

• Driver’s license or picture ID

• The name of your OB doctor or clinic where you receive prenatal care

Northridge Hospital Medical Center offers 24/7 obstetric and gynecological services with the OB Hospitalist Group, the industry’s largest dedicated OB/GYN hospitalist provider.

OB hospitalists are sometimes called laborists. They are on-site at all times, giving you peace of mind that you can get expert obstetric care if your doctor is unavailable or en route. Our board-certified hospitalists are highly skilled and have the expertise and experience to:

• Monitor your labor progress

• Address any emergency concerns

• Answer patient and family questions

• Examine and treat you regardless of time, complication, circumstance or insurance status

Our Level IIIB NICU provides advanced treatments, including urgent surgical care, for premature and critically ill babies.

Services and technology we offer in the NICU include:

• Specialized incubators to create a supportive environment for premature babies

• Designated area for babies who need the highest level of care

• Cool caps to treat newborns with oxygen deficiency, preventing or reducing the chance of severe neurological injury

• Nitric oxide therapy to increase the survival rate of infants 35 weeks gestation and above with respiratory failure secondary to persistent pulmonary hypertension

Watch NICU story

Parents and care partners may visit at any time, except during our shift change from 6:45–7:30 a.m. and 6:45–7:30 p.m. 

Siblings may visit the NICU when accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Please discuss sibling visits with your nurse in advance.