Guiding Hand
Birth Navigator Helps Moms Realize Their Ideal Childbirth Experiences

Eteirrah Parker, here with baby Natreale and birth navigator Cindy Andrejasich, was thrilled with her experience at The Ladies Board Birthing Inn. A major highlight was the personalized care she and her family received.

Expecting a baby can be the most exciting time of your life. It can also be an anxious period when you may have questions and concerns about your childbirth journey. At The Ladies Board Birthing Inn at Inova Loudoun Hospital, a birth navigator is ready to give you expert guidance and emotional support every step of the way. From the moment you find out that you are pregnant, through your labor, delivery and postpartum recovery, a navigator can help you plan the birth you want, answer any questions, and provide educational and emotional support. She is also available to coordinate care involving hospital- and community-based support services.

“Even though there’s a lot of information on the Internet, there really is no complete substitute for someone who a mom feels she can have real face-to-face contact with to discuss her concerns, her desires and her needs,” says Cindy Andrejasich, RNC, MSN, CNE-BC, The Birthing Inn’s birth navigator and a nurse with 33 years of experience. “It’s very important to us that our moms who choose to deliver here have the experience they’re looking for.”.

Dream Delivered

Mother Eteirrah Parker was looking for a positive experience after two disappointing birthing experiences at another hospital. When Parker was pregnant with her third child, she visited The Birthing Inn and talked to Andrejasich, who listened to Parker’s wish list. Among her wishes was a desire for more personalized care and having her husband actively participate in the childbirth process.

Andrejasich gave Parker her cellphone number so she could call when she went into labor and the hospital would know she would soon be arriving.
Parker's wishes came true. “When we got to the hospital, I didn’t have to say anything to anyone about what I wanted because they already knew,” she recalls. “They took excellent care of me, they were very engaging with my family, and they allowed them to be involved in as much as they could be involved in safely.”
The Birthing Inn also pleased Parker because of its wonderful amenities. The labor and delivery suite was a spacious, private room equipped with the comforts of home including a TV and DVD player. And there was a comfortable recliner to make her husband feel at home. “The labor and delivery room had a homelike atmosphere and it was very inviting, very warm and very spacious,” says Parker.

	Earnest, Natreale and Eteirrah Parker

The most enjoyable aspect of Parker’s stay was knowing that a caring, competent staff was there every minute of the journey focusing on her and her baby. The Birthing Inn is staffed with a neonatologist or neonatal nurse practitioner and anesthesiologist 24 hours a day to provide the highest level of care to expectant mothers with high-risk deliveries. For women needing a cesarean section, there are two dedicated operating rooms staffed by a surgical medical team. A Level IIIA neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) is located within the dedicated maternity building for infants born as early as 28 weeks. Lactation consultants are also available to provide support at the center and after moms arrive home with outpatient appointments available.

Getting a Great Start

These days, mom and baby Natreale are healthy and happy. Success stories like Parker’s are what make Andrejasichs’s job so rewarding. “To have the privilege of being a woman helping other women have the experience that they’re hoping to have is just phenomenal,” says Andrejasich. “I work with an amazing group of professionals who are there to give moms the experience that they’re hoping for within the parameters of safety.”