Family Birth Center
Did you know that every time a baby is born at St. Mary's Hospital a special lullaby plays throughout the building? This year, we're celebrating 30 Years of the St. Mary’s Lullaby! Watch both versions of the lullaby—guitar and piano. Mark Maxwell wrote and composed the lullaby to welcome all babies born at St. Mary’s Family Birth Center into the world!
Piano Version
Guitar Version
Here at St. Mary’s Family Birth Center in Athens, we are honored to be a part of your special day. We offer compassionate care in a comfortable and modern birthing center featuring spacious rooms, state-of-the-art equipment, and our experienced and caring staff.
Benefits of St. Mary's Family Birth Center
Privacy and Comfort
Most moms stay in the same private room for labor, delivery, postpartum, and recovery when they have an uncomplicated delivery. We encourage rooming-in with your baby, but if you need to take a break, the Joe Ann Mitchell Newborn Nursery is always available.
Neonatal Intensive Care
If your baby needs specialized care after birth, our state-of-the-art Level II Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is directly connected to the Family Birth Center. We have two dedicated neonatologists who provide care to our babies in the NICU. Parents are always welcome.
Safety and Security
St. Mary’s makes birthing safer and more comfortable with sophisticated equipment, skilled staff, and up-to-date anesthesia medicines and techniques. Our Family Birth Center also features patient safety equipment and protocols to provide security and peace-of-mind for you and your baby.
Experienced & Knowledgeable Staff
Our staff brings extensive education and years of experience to your bedside. From labor to breastfeeding, our staff is here for you. If you need a c-section, our Family Birth Center staff is fully trained in Cesarean delivery and our dedicated c-section surgery suite is only a few steps from your private room. Our labor and delivery nurses are certified in external fetal monitoring through the National Certification Corporation. This ensures you have the most skilled nurses monitoring your baby throughout the labor process.
Pre-register Delivery Date
Speed up admission by pre-registering before your due date.
Pre-Register Now
Find a Class
St. Mary's offers a variety of classes and programs throughout the year to help you live a healthier life.
Find a Class
Tour the Facility
We offer a dedicated c-section suite, triage rooms and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Book a TourFrequently Asked Questions
Decide which items you and your baby will need during your stay and the trip home. Put them into a carrying bag to grab on your way to the hospital, or – better yet – keep it in your vehicle so that it’s there when the time arrives.
- You can pre-register online prior to your due date. Important: Pre-registration will save time when you arrive, but you must still go through Registration before we can admit you to the hospital.
- Photo ID and current insurance card/information
- Camera and/or smart phone, extra card, and charger. Please note: Deliveries may not be videoed, but still images are allowed.
- List of contacts
- Music player and/or iPod docking station
- Eyeglasses or contact lens case with solution
- Labor support aids, such as massage lotion and focal point
- Personal hygiene items, such as toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthwash, lip balm, comb and brush, deodorant
- Book or eReader
- Your laptop – free wireless internet is available
- A robe, nightgown, slippers
- Snacks
- A comfortable support bra and if breastfeeding, a nursing bra
- Clothing for you to wear home
- Clothing for baby to wear home and several receiving blankets
- Baby book (so the nurses can put footprints in the book for you)
- Your pillow, if you wish. We provide plenty of hospital-grade pillows for your use. If you want to bring your own, please use a brightly colored pillowcase so we do not mistake it for one of ours
- We do not allow candles, incense, or anything that burns
- Call your doctor before coming to the hospital.
- During normal working hours, go to Patient Registration when you arrive at St. Mary’s Hospital. See current operating hours.
- Patient Registration department is located on the 1st Floor directly across from the parking deck.
- After hours, on weekends and on holidays when Main Registration is not open, go to the Emergency Department entrance to register.
- It may be best to notify family and friends after your labor status has been determined.
- Remember to bring your bags!
The Sacred Hour is reserved for mother and baby to rest and begin bonding shortly after birth. It’s a quiet time when we encourage mother and baby to be alone together with only one support person present. After this hour is complete, visitors are welcome at your discretion.
During the Sacred Hour, mother and baby will be skin-to-skin. This helps regulate your baby’s temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, and blood sugar levels. Some other benefits of skin-to-skin contact during the Sacred Hour include:
- Easier adjustment for your baby
- Increased bonding with your baby, and
- Early initiation of breastfeeding
It’s an hour you will cherish forever.
After you deliver, plan on staying at least 24 hours up to 2 nights for a vaginal delivery, and 3-4 nights for a Cesarean section. Complications may affect length of stay.
- You ARE permitted to have your cell phone in the Family Birth Center.
- If someone wants to call you on your room phone, they will need to call the main switchboard at (706) 389-3000 and provide your room number.
- Family Birth Center nurses station is (706) 389-3300.
- Staff members are not permitted to give out patient information over the phone.
- Siblings of the new baby are welcome!
- To protect the health of you and your new baby, visitors with cold, flu, or COVID symptoms are not permitted.
- Visiting may be affected by COVID levels. Please see the visitor section of our website for up-to-date information.
We welcome compliments for our staff, but also appreciate your input on opportunities for improvement. Please contact our Patient Experience Line at (706) 389-3886. We will return your call as soon as possible.
- You will be asked to complete information for the birth certificate before leaving the hospital.
- If the mother and father are not married, they must sign a paternity acknowledgement in order for the father to be listed on the birth certificate.
- To get certified copies of the birth certificate, contact your county health department or the Georgia Office of Vital Records.
- Choose a pediatrician before you come to the hospital. Many require a prenatal visit before accepting newborns as patients.
- To be discharged from St. Mary’s Hospital you must have a car seat installed for your baby. Learn about car seat requirements in Georgia, and other helpful car seat resources. The Athens-Clarke County Police Department can have a Nationally Certified Car Safety Seat Technician inspect your child safety seat for free.
If you are a parent or parent-to-be, we make it easy for you to share pictures of your newborn through a premium service called Bella Baby photography.
Bella Baby sends professional photographers to St. Mary’s every day to take beautiful, intimate portraits of new babies. If you request this service, photos from your session will be posted in a password-secured section of Bella Baby’s website where you — and those with whom you share the password — can view them for two weeks while deciding if you wish to place an order. Package pricing begins at $39.
- At delivery, four infant ID bands will be provided with identical information and numbers (one each for mom and significant other, two for baby). All bands will be put on at delivery.
- An electronic security band will be placed on baby in the nursery. This band will set off an alarm if the baby gets close to any stairwells or elevators.
- At discharge or any time your infant is being transported throuth the halls, your infant must be in their bassinet. Please do not carry them.
