Birthing Center - Essentia Health-St. Mary's Medical Center (Duluth)

Welcome to the Birthplace at Essentia Health-St. Mary’s Medical Center. Our Birthplace has 15 modern birthing rooms. We also have 11 rooms for patients who need to stay in the hospital during pregnancy or while healing from a Cesarean section. Each patient room features:

• Whirlpool tub
• Bathroom
• Areas to plug in personal electronic devices
• Beautiful artwork by local photographers
• Access to CARE Channel for help relaxing

Take advantage of the following resources, which can help you prepare for labor and baby.

Before & During Delivery

• Birthplace Admission
• Low Intervention Maternity Services
• Managing Pain During Labor
• Comfort Strategies for Labor
• Hospital Checklist for Expectant Parents
• Procedures You Might Have During Labor and Delivery
• Guide for Labor Coach
• Doulas

After Delivery

• Postpartum Depression

Breastfeeding

• St. Mary's Breastfeeding Clinic
• Local Breastfeeding Resources
• Breastfeeding FAQs

Community Resources

• St. Louis County Pregnancy Resources
• Douglas County Pregnancy Resources

To help you find comfort and heal faster, the Birthplace offers two special TV channels. The CARE Channel provides beautiful nature scenes and quiet music. In the evening, the scenes change from day to night with a sunset at 10 p.m. It gives you calm music and a midnight star field to help you sleep. The CARE Channel with Guided Imagery has spoken narration with nature scenes and music. A calm, quiet voice helps you relax and promotes comfort and rest.

Here at St. Mary's Medical Center, we're a teaching hospital. Our Essentia physicians supervise and work side-by-side with residents providing care on the Birthplace. A resident is a new doctor who has completed medical school and is gaining hands on experience and training in patient care.

See below for the list of current residents providing care on the Birthplace:

• Kyle Bakken, MD
• Satya Rijal, MBBS
• Bisola Omoba, MD
• Payton Schultz, MD
• Whitney Bertram-Reents, MD
• Courtney Donahoe, DO
• Benjamin Dummer, MD
• Elaina Hintsala-Fronden, MD
• Joshua Godding, MD
• Jamie Hammer, MD
• Lucas Henningsen, MD
• Christopher Hughes, MD
• Jordan Kaczor, MD
• Laura Lhotkam, MD
• Jordan Lindholm, MD
• Nicholas Loken, DO
• Staci Loken, DO
• Burton Masem, MD
• Stephen Palmquist, MD
• Hannah Salk, MD
• Alexandra Sauer, MD
• Jessica Taylor, MD
• Owen Tierney, DO
• Erin Traxler, DO
• Jake Traxler, MD
• Nicholas Velasquez, MD