Having a Baby at Baylor Dallas

Welcome to our series on what it’s like to give birth at various places in the DFW metroplex. Today we share information about Baylor University Medical Center.

Baylor University Medical Center, also often called BUMC (pronounced Bum-see) or Baylor Dallas or even Big Baylor is located in the heart of Dallas, just east of downtown Dallas. We’ve always loved attending births here and have attended A LOT of births here. Bottom line….it’s a great place to have a baby!

Childbirth at Baylor Dallas - the basics

Where is Labor and Delivery? - It’s right across from the parking garage and has a private entrance that lead right to triage and the main Labor and Delivery area. Just look for the red modern art statue - it’s at the entrance to L and D and you can even park there for drop off then move to the parking garage. This entrance is open 24/7.

Parking Parking is in a garage across the street from the hospital. There is curbside drop off for expecting women. The garage parking is $5 a day and you can pay cash or charge.

Food For patients, we hear the food is….average. However there is a large cafeteria not far from Labor and Delivery so visitors or partners have choices and can bring food to the room for anyone that is hungry. The main cafeteria offers pizza, Chick Fil A, deli sandwiches and salads, a made-to-order grill and even sushi. Hot breakfast (and Chick Fil A breakfast stuff) is available and there is a Starbucks coffee. In the middle of the night there is a small restaurant by the emergency room that has the basics like chips, sandwiches and, my own favorite order there, quesadillas.

Rooms– The labor rooms are large but none have windows with views in fact most don’t even have windows at all. There are no birthing tubs but each room does have a regular size tub and shower in the bathroom. However, once you move to the postpartum wing, the rooms are quite nice and even have a decent place for an extra person to sleep. It’s not memory foam, but in the world of hospitals, it fairly luxurious.

NICU– Level III

Breastfeeding Support – BUMC is known for having fantastic breastfeeding support.

Is there a well baby nursery? Baylor Dallas encourages rooming in, so in most cases your baby will stay with you after delivery unless they need extra care. Your baby will receive it’s first bath in your postpartum room.

Is intermittent monitoring available? If you are walking the halls at Baylor Dallas, don’t be surprised if your nurse comes to find you with Doppler in order to listen to your baby’s heart tones. If you are laboring in your room, the nurse may or may not use a doppler or use the monitors by the bed depending on where you are. Expect the nurse to listen to the baby’s heartbeat before, during and after a contraction every 30 mins or so as long as all is well. Monitoring is obviously increased as needed and during the pushing phase.

Saline Lock ? Yes

Telemetry Monitoring? Yes. If you need to be continuously monitored, Baylor Dallas does have the MONICA monitors available.

Does Baylor Dallas offer Family Center Cesareans? Yes, and they were one of the first hospitals to do so!

Is Baylor Dallas VBAC friendly? Yes, though of course this is provider dependent. Some providers are better VBAC options than others..

Natural Birth friendly? Baylor Dallas is generally one of the most natural birth hospitals in DFW.

Is water birth or labor an option? Water birth is not an option at Baylor Dallas, however laboring in water is an option if you want to use the smaller tubs in the room or bring your own tub. Showers are also an option and there is one in every room.

Estimated Cesarean Rate for Baylor Dallas 20% of low risk, singleton births were via primary Cesarean. (see Cesareanrates.com for more info)

Are doulas welcome in the OR during a Cesarean birth? Yes. Birth photographers have been welcomed in as well.

Childbirth at Baylor Dallas - a few more thoughts

Baylor Dallas is a teaching hospital and the OB residents come in and out of the room during labor. Sometimes a resident may come in for a delivery and they often do vaginal exams. Obviously, they need your consent for any of this, so you can decide if you are comfortable having a residents as part of your care.

It must be noted that Baylor Dallas has some of the best nurses anywhere. We love so many of them! I don’t know what makes BUMC nurses so great as there are good nurses everywhere…it’s just that they are all so good at Baylor Dallas.

We’ve been going to births for 15 years and honestly, Baylor Dallas is really one of our favorite places to doula and consistently provides amazing and respectful care to our clients.

Baylor University Medical Center: 3500 Gaston Ave, Dallas, TX 75246