Bringing Home Baby

Returning Home and Caring for Your Newborn

As you prepare to return home, it’s important to us that you feel confident about caring for your baby once you leave the hospital. While you are still at the hospital, we offer our new moms a number of support services to help in the process:

  • Your personal nurse and a lactation consultant are available to assist you with feedings and any mother-baby challenges that you may be experiencing.
  • We give you a booklet to take home that contains all of the mother-baby care guidelines that we provided while you were in the hospital.
  • We also give you a resource card filled with important phone numbers for the hospital, physicians and resources that you may need.
  • Finally, to ensure the continuity of your care, one of our OB nurses will check on you with a follow-up phone call after you and your baby have been discharged.

Bringing Home BabyAfter you have returned home, you may want to attend our Mom’s MoBap Morning support group. Additional opportunities for continuing education are offered through our Childbirth Center. These are designed specifically for new parents. For more classes and support groups, please visit the ‘My Guide to Classes’ section of our web site.

To help you feel more prepared when you return home, we have outlined a number of things to help you with your baby, including:

Birth Certificates:

A birth certificate takes at least 2-4 weeks to be completed by the State of Missouri. Once the state has completed the birth certificate, they notify Social Security. This only happens if the parent(s) give permission on the worksheet that is completed at the hospital for Social Security.

You can request a copy of your baby's birth certificate in one of three ways:

  • Send your completed green Birth Certificate Request form (provided in your baby's folder from Missouri Baptist) with a check or money order for $15 to:

St. Louis County Vital Records
6121 North Hanley Road
Berkeley, MO 63134
(314) 615-1720

 

Downtown St. Louis
Inside St. Louis City Hall
1200 Market St., Room 126
St. Louis, MO  63103
(314) 613-3016

  • In person, go directly to the address listed above.
  • Online for an additional fee at www.dhss.mo.gov

You should receive your baby's Social Security number in about 8 weeks if you have given permission. Any questions or concerns regarding your baby's Social Security card, call (800) 772-1213. The Birth Certificate Office at Missouri Baptist can be reached at (314) 996-5746.