Oh Baby! Look what's coming to Sunnybrook

An official ‘Welcome to Bayview' ceremony was held today for our Women & Babies program, which is making the move to new, state-of-the-art facilities on our Bayview Campus on Sunday, September 12, 2010.

The Honourable Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care and the Honourable Kathleen Wynne, MPP, Don Valley West, joined hospital staff and donors to unveil the new facility, which will forever change the standard of care provided to mothers and babies.

Specializing in high-risk births, multiple births and neonatal intensive care, the brand new Women & Babies program will deliver approximately 4,250 babies every year in its two-floor, 120,000 square-foot space. Of these deliveries, one quarter are considered high risk and the teams at Sunnybrook will care for one of every five babies born in Ontario who weigh less than three pounds.

"Our staff are thrilled with this new facility," said Dr. Barry McLellan. "This is the premier facility for high-risk births and neonatal intensive care in the country. It was designed with patients, families and staff, who came together to create an incredible environment to bring new life into the world. The research and clinical advancements that will be made in this facility will invent the future of care for women and babies," he adds.

Our program offers many unique features that have received international acclaim for their leading-edge design. Women experiencing low-risk pregnancies, for example, can labour, deliver and recover all in the comforts of one room without ever having to move.

Women experiencing high-risk pregnancies will also receive care in rooms that feel more like home than hospital. For those who have complicated deliveries where their babies require additional and immediate care, mothers and birthing partners have the option of watching staff help newborns on a closed circuit television.

The neonatal intensive care unit has a separate room for each baby, as well as separate entrances for parents and staff. There are also specially equipped rooms in the NICU for multiple births.

Our Women & Babies program will open its doors for births and neonatal intensive care on September 12, when it will move from its current location at 76 Grenville St.

Take a virtual tour of the new unit at sunnybrook.ca/tour