Unique Services

VBAC- Vaginal Birth after Cesarean-
Experienced OB providers are available to perform complicated procedures, such as vaginal deliveries for women who have previously had a C-section and vaginal deliveries of twins. No other hospital in El Paso offers women the option of having a natural birth if they have previously had a C-section. If this is the delivery you would like to have, please discuss it with your healthcare provider during a prenatal office visit.



Mother-Baby Couplet Care
UMC’s Women’s Pavilion offers mother/baby couplet care, which means that mother and baby are cared for in the mother’s room from the time baby is born, through recovery and until they are ready to go home. Immediately after delivery, our RNs place baby on mother’s chest to initiate skin-to-skin contact. Skin-to-skin contact is the first step to couplet care. If for some reason, mom is unable to experience skin-to-skin contact, we strongly recommend “kangaroo care”, where father, grandmother or another family member steps in to give baby the warmth and “cuddle time” that is so beneficial.

Couplet care is a family-centered approach that promotes immediate bonding, educational opportunities and family satisfaction. Research has shown that by keeping mom and baby together, we are creating a stronger bond, building baby’s immunity and increasing success rates for breastfeeding.

Couplet care and skin-to-skin contact have numerous benefits including:

• Increased bonding between mothers and babies
• Natural breast-feeding: newborn will look for the breast & self attach
• Hormonal signals to start lactation
• Colostrum is nature’s antidote: Colostrum is the first milk which has living cells that prime the baby’s immune system and help baby fight off illnesses.
• Gives a glucose boost to the baby: less chance of hypoglycemia
• Decreases mother’s bleeding
• Keeps the baby warm
• Mother and baby begin a rhythm of care helping to initiate behaviors that will last through a child’s early life.