Eskenazi Health has been certified as Obstetric Level of Care III and Neonatal Level of Care III in accordance with the Indiana State Department of Health’s Perinatal Level of Care Program. According to program guidelines, a Level III facility is “equipped to care for complex maternal medical conditions and obstetric complications as well as infants requiring neonatal intensive care.”

Indiana law now requires certification for all hospitals that provide obstetric and neonatal services. Hospitals are certified from Level IV through Level I depending on the services offered at each health care facility, with Level IV providing the most acute care. The Perinatal Level of Care Program is intended to provide the information needed when selecting a health care facility for perinatal care. According to the Indiana State Department of Health, the American Academy of Pediatrics finds correlation between states with Level of Care programs and lower numbers of maternal and infant deaths and illnesses. More information about the Perinatal Level of Care Program can be found at https://bit.ly/3hStWuv.

Eskenazi Health offers obstetric care at Eskenazi Health Center sites located throughout Marion County. A team of maternal fetal medicine specialists and other support staff also provide care for high-risk pregnancies at the High-Risk Obstetrics Clinic, located at the Sandra Eskenazi Outpatient Care Center on the Eskenazi Health downtown campus. More than 2,700 babies were born at the Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital in 2019. The Sablosky Family Labor & Delivery Center at Eskenazi Health offers 12 labor and delivery rooms and 36 private antenatal/post-partum rooms. Babies who are born prematurely or ill and in need of around-the-clock services are cared for in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), which includes 33 private patient rooms. Each baby is cared for by a multidisciplinary care team of providers.

In addition to obstetric and neonatal care, Eskenazi Health offers patients access to a variety of support services including lactation services available 24/7, family resource coordinators, dietitians and nutrition education, financial counseling, and childbirth classes for expectant mothers and their partners in order to help prepare them for the birth process and newborn care. Patients can also be connected with a variety of community resources that offer additional support and social services.

Patients are encouraged to begin prenatal care as early in their pregnancies as possible. Those wishing to schedule an appointment or establish care as a new patient can call Eskenazi Health Connections at 317.880.7666.