Parents-to-be get sneak peek at birthing center

Childbirth class coordinator Laura Baller describes the warming station for newborns in each birthing room at Backus Hospital.

The new year will bring a new addition to the family for the 100 or so people who attended Backus Hospital’s Birthing Center Open House Jan. 23. About 50 pregnant women and their husbands, partners or birthing coaches spent the evening at the hospital, touring the birthing center, listening to speakers and picking up brochures describing hospital- and community-based services designed to help new parents.

“You are about to have your life changed,” pediatrician Larry Galan, M.D., told the crowd. “All of a sudden, from two of you, there are three.” Couples used to going out together at the spur of the moment, he said, may now have to face the reality of “a crying thing, screaming bloody murder.”

Apart from colic, new parents also find themselves confronted with a dizzying array of baby supplies, “from warmers for wipes and diapers to 60,000 kinds of nipples,” said Dr. Galan. “You really could spend a fortune on things you not only don’t really need, but that may even be harmful to the little one.”

“You’re their best toy in their first few months,” said physical therapist Julie Hall of KidSteps. “Make sure they get belly time. Play with your kids, lay them on your chest.” She said that she sees many infants who spend too much time in what she called the “baby bucket,” a car seat with a carry handle that some parents rely on to “contain” the baby for most of the day. Many of these babies develop flat spots on the back of their heads, which changes their muscle alignment and can create developmental problems, she said.

For prospective parents Erin and Eric Palonen of Jewett City, the open house was a chance to get a glimpse of their impending life change. They’re expecting their first baby at the end of May, on Eric’s 30th birthday.

"I’m interested definitely in learning about breastfeeding. I don’t know anything about it on my own,” said Erin. “We’re signing up for the birthing class. And the pregnancy massage thing sounds pretty good, too.”

Attendance at the expectant-parent event is up considerably, said childbirth class coordinator Laura Baller. “It used to be just 20 people showed up,” she said. “Now it’s more like 100.” The hospital holds the event three times a year, she said.

Parents-to-be learned about the hospital’s current birthing center security system, in which each newborn is fitted with what Baller called a “baby Lo-Jack” – an ankle device that sets off an alarm if the wearer approaches the center’s exit doors. The alarm automatically puts the ward into lockdown mode, she said.

They also learned that four out of five child car seats are installed incorrectly. Esther Pendola of Safe Kids New London County said new parents can make an appointment to be trained on how to correctly install their infant seat. While experts once recommended that babies ride in rear-facing seats for just six months, the new standards require rear-facing seats for the first two years of a child’s life, she said.

Every expectant mom went home with a hand-knitted or crocheted cap or baby booties, courtesy of the Griswold and Lisbon senior centers.