Childbirth Classes to be Held at SDSU

  • February 06, 2014

The March of Dimes recently gave funds to Brookings Health System to partner with SDSU to provide prenatal education to the university community. Pictured here, from left, are SDSU Communication Studies & Theatre professor Jennifer Anderson, March of Dimes Associate Director Program Services Wendy Lewis, and Brookings Health System OB Director Mary Schwaegerl.
The March of Dimes recently gave funds to Brookings Health System to partner with SDSU to provide prenatal education to the university community. Pictured here, from left, are SDSU Communication Studies & Theatre professor Jennifer Anderson, March of Dimes Associate Director Program Services Wendy Lewis, and Brookings Health System OB Director Mary Schwaegerl.

Brookings Health System will offer the popular childbirth preparation class series on campus at South Dakota State University this spring.

Classes will be held on Tuesday nights at 7 p.m. from March 18 to April 29. They will meet in Yeager Hall, room 231. Topics discussed include stages of labor, pain management techniques, what to expect during delivery, why to wait to deliver a baby until 39 weeks, and baby care basics.

The classes are made possible by a grant from the March of Dimes South Dakota Chapter. The March of Dimes gave funding to Brookings Health System to partner with SDSU to provide prenatal education to the university community.

“Improving community health promotion is at the core of Brookings Health System’s goals,” said Chief Nursing Officer Tammy Hillestad. “SDSU is a crucial population for maternal health. We learned both domestic and international students who are expectant parents remain largely unaware of resources for prenatal education. Our hope with this initial class series is that by bringing the classes to the students, we can improve overall maternal health outcomes.”

Parents who are having a baby and are interested in the free pregnancy classes either at SDSU or Brookings Health System’s hospital may register online at www.brookingshealth.org/Events.

Brookings Health System’s OB unit, New Beginnings Birth Center, has eight-beds with three labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum (LDRP) rooms and five postpartum recovery rooms. The unit provides full OB services to expectant parents and enables area residents to deliver their baby close to home with a local physician. To learn more about New Beginnings Birth Center, please visit www.brookingshealth.org/OB.

About Brookings Health System

Brookings Health System, located in Brookings, South Dakota, includes a 49-bed hospital, the 79-bed The Neighborhoods at Brookview nursing home, Brookhaven Estates senior living apartments, Yorkshire Eye Clinic, Arlington Medical Center and White Medical Clinic. It is a non-profit, city-owned facility that offers the community a full range of inpatient, outpatient, surgical and extended care services. The emergency room is staffed 24 hours a day and provides around the clock patient needs ranging from minor injuries to life threatening crises. For more information about the services offered at Brookings Health System, please call (605) 696-9000 or visit us on the Web at brookingshealth.org.