Valley Hospital hosts baby fair

On April 3, Valley Hospital will celebrate the birthday of the Family Birthing Center by hosting a baby fair, which will be held in the main lobby of Valley Hospital in Palmer from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This free event is designed for expecting parents, those considering pregnancy, and for families with young children.

The 2002 National Family Physician of the Year, Dr. Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, will be the keynote speaker, sharing her expertise on well baby care and soothing the irritable infant. Dr. Baldwin-Johnson was the first Alaska physician to receive this award from the American Academy of Family Physicians, which has made the award annually since 1977.

In addition, local experts will give presentations on the following:

High tech pain relief options

Alternative comfort measures

Preventing childhood obesity and disease

Obstetrics nurses will be conducting guided tours of the obstetrics wing with its state-of-the-art birthing suites, each with its own Jacuzzi for mothers and in-room sleeping area for fathers. Valley Hospital physical therapists will demonstrate healthy back care for mothers to be. OB nurses will offer breast-feeding tips, and the dietary department will give mothers nutrition advice for finicky toddlers. Local physicians, social service agencies, and businesses will be there with parenting tips, advice and lots of give-aways.

Every attendee will be able to win a door prize by participating in the Rubber Ducky Contest, a traditional duck pond game in one of the center's new Jacuzzis. For more information about the fair, contact Elizabeth Ripley at 352-2849 or Pat Smith at 746-8514.

In the Valley Hospital Family Birthing Center, Valley Hospital has created a state-of-the-art, in-hospital birthing center incorporating five hotel-style Labor-Delivery-Recovery-Postpartum rooms and three ante/postpartum rooms. LDRP rooms are fast becoming the state-of-the-art model for modern-day birthing methods and practices. The three ante/postpartum rooms are provided for at-risk prenatal patients, scheduled cesarean section patients and select gynecologic procedures. An operating room suite to support C-sections and selective gynecological procedures is contained within the OB suite, together with an adjacent nursery. Provision is made for a small conference room to more efficiently teach patients and families within the unit.