Geisinger’s Scranton Childbirth Center delivers 100th baby
Scranton couple welcomes newborn girl
The 100th child delivered at Geisinger Community Medical Center’s Childbirth Center, Victoria was born at 4:57 p.m. Feb. 5 to Nicole Griguts and Joseph Sowka of Scranton. At her time of birth, she was 20 inches long and weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces.
Griguts had received maternity care in Scranton before, but this was the first time she chose the Childbirth Center, which opened in October, for her labor and delivery. Staffed with certified nurse midwives and obstetrician/gynecologists, the Childbirth Center offers mothers-to-be the resources to deliver naturally or rely on medical and surgical treatments.
“I was going to see the midwives at Geisinger - Mount Pleasant,” Griguts said. “They first suggested I could deliver here, and I had heard this place was beautiful.”
With eight spacious suites designed for labor, delivery and recovery, the Childbirth Center provides all of the technology and medical expertise of a state-of-the-art birthing unit in a space imbued with the comforts of home. Large rooms give moms the opportunity to move around and experiment with birthing balls, benches and hydrotherapy tubs right up until delivery, and wireless monitoring equipment can be concealed in cabinets or brought out as needed.
“It was a cool experience,” Griguts said of being cared for by midwives. “They’re very helpful.”
Sowka added that the whole staff was attentive and accommodating during their stay.
“They’re very relaxed, and they know what they’re doing with the baby,” he said.
Childbirth Center operations manager Lauren Gleason said through the first 100 births, the unit has had a high rate of success in helping mothers who intend to deliver vaginally achieve their goal.
“At Geisinger Community Medical Center, our current rate of C-section is significantly lower than the national average,” Gleason said, noting that lower-intervention births are associated with the best outcomes.
But the frequency of low-intervention births at the Childbirth Center, while a point of pride, is not the most important observation to note over the first 100 deliveries. The big takeaway, Gleason said, is the unit has been able to adapt to the specific needs of each mom who delivered there. It is equally equipped to cater to the most low-risk, natural birth as it is the scheduled or emergency C-section, and it offers pain management options for everyone in between, giving expectant mothers choices before and during labor.
“The beauty of the Childbirth Center is we have the services to meet each patient’s wishes and the capability to customize their birth plan,” Gleason said. “The best thing we can do to serve members of the community is provide them with education and options and empower them to make the best choice for them.”
About Geisinger
Geisinger is among the nation’s leading providers of value-based care, serving 1.2 million people in urban and rural communities across Pennsylvania. Founded in 1915 by philanthropist Abigail Geisinger, the non-profit system generates $10 billion in annual revenues across 134 care sites - including 10 hospital campuses, and Geisinger Health Plan, with 600,000 members in commercial and government plans. The Geisinger College of Health Sciences educates more than 5,000 medical professionals annually and conducts more than 1,400 clinical research studies. With 26,000 employees, including 1,600 employed physicians, Geisinger is among Pennsylvania’s largest employers with an estimated economic impact of $14 billion to the state’s economy. On March 31, 2024, Geisinger became the first member of Risant Health, a new nonprofit charitable organization created to expand and accelerate value-based care across the country. Learn more at geisinger.org or connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and X.
