As construction crews continue work on the new Family Health Pavilion at Lehigh Valley Hospital - Muhlenberg, which is scheduled to open in summer 2017, Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) leadership and staff are creating a new birthing experience for expectant moms and their families.

To make that happen, among the offerings LVHN is introducing is the Baby Bundle educational tool. Baby Bundle is a book, e-book and mobile app that gives women all the evidence-based information to support a healthy pregnancy, prepare for labor, childbirth and the new baby.

“Community members have said in addition to the quality of care they have come to expect from LVHN they also want a new patient experience that includes more choices, more support and more education during early pregnancy,” said Mary Bianchi, vice president, women’s and children’s services.

“We also plan to provide that personal touch that women want to be actively involved in making their own care decisions to have the best birthing experience possible,” Bianchi said.

Beginning with their first appointment, women and families will be able to use the Baby Bundle app to follow their baby’s growth week by week or by trimester in one convenient free app.

For a video demonstration: youtube/s4dgqjTPV7w

In addition, women can view after-visit summaries on MyLVHN, the health network’s personalized patient portal, and enroll in email communications for added convenience.

The app is now available for download at LVHN.org/babybundle.

The e-book will also soon be available in English and Spanish. Patients will receive a printed copy of the book at their prenatal appointment.

When the four-story, 161,000-square-foot Family Health Pavilion opens next summer it will feature a home-like environment. The surroundings will include lots of natural light, comfortable furnishings for moms and their support partners and spa-like bathrooms.

Plans call for the Family Health Pavilion to include:

Obstetrics and newborn services on the second and third floors, including:

A mother-baby unit with 20 private patient rooms

A Level II NICU with 10 private rooms

Eight labor, delivery and recovery rooms

An admitting-holding nursery for use during the admission process or for procedures

Two operating rooms

Five obstetrics triage beds

A three-bay post-anesthesia care unit area

And a four-bed antepartum unit

A Center for Inpatient Rehabilitation on the first floor, providing patients a short period of intensive, hospital-based therapy following a serious illness, injury or procedure. It will include:

28 beds

A therapy gym

A suite where patients can perform activities of daily living

Specialized rehab equipment, including a harness patients can use as they learn to stand and walk again during recovery

Lobby space on the first floor, including a new gift shop, café, a children’s play center, a private lactation room for breastfeeding mothers, additional rest rooms and an outdoor courtyard.

Shell space on the fourth floor for future growth.

The new facility created 225 new construction jobs and will add 185 new patient care jobs when it opens.