Labor & Delivery Glossary
The terms you'll hear on a maternity tour, in plain English.
- LDR room
- A Labor, Delivery, and Recovery room. You labor, give birth, and recover for the first hours in the same room, then move to a postpartum room.
- LDRP room
- Labor, Delivery, Recovery, and Postpartum in a single room for your whole stay. No room transfer after birth.
- Mother-baby unit
- The postpartum floor where you and your baby stay after delivery. Rooms may be private or shared depending on the hospital.
- Rooming-in
- Your baby stays in your room with you instead of a central nursery.
- OB triage
- The area where you are checked when you arrive in labor or with a concern, before being admitted to a labor room.
- Doula
- A trained, non-medical support person who helps with comfort, positioning, and advocacy during labor. Hospitals differ on whether a doula counts as a visitor.
- Hydrotherapy
- Using warm water (a tub or shower) for comfort during labor. Labor tubs are not the same as water birth.
- Water birth
- Giving birth with the baby born in the water. Offered at fewer hospitals and only for eligible patients.
- Nitrous oxide
- Laughing gas, a mix of nitrous oxide and oxygen you breathe through a mask you hold yourself. Offered for labor pain at some hospitals.
- Epidural
- Pain relief medication given through a thin tube in the lower back by an anesthesiologist.
- TOLAC / VBAC
- Trial of labor after cesarean / vaginal birth after cesarean. Whether a hospital supports it and whether it is right for you depends on the hospital and your medical history.
- NICU
- Neonatal intensive care unit for babies who need extra medical care. Hospitals are designated Level I to IV.
- Postpartum
- The period after birth. In hospital terms, your stay after delivery, usually 1–2 days after a vaginal birth and 2–4 after a C-section.
- Cord blood banking
- Saving blood from the umbilical cord after birth, either privately (for your family, for a fee) or by public donation where offered.