Family-Centered Care

Dr. Morris Green, a Riley Pediatrician for over 50 years, was a pioneer in pediatric medicine with an unparalleled reputation as a clinician, teacher, and administrator. Dr. Green was the first to identify the importance of understanding the psychosocial elements contributing to the care and healing of a pediatric patient. He emphasized that children are affected by family interactions, both physically and emotionally. The IU-Riley Perinatal Center integrates and supports this philosophy in it’s entirety. From parent-to-parent support to providing our expectant families with educational resources, we are here to help ease the stress of accepting a high-risk pregnancy.

Outpatient Resource

We understand that the medical field can be overwhelming, the language foreign, and the procedures and policies extraordinary. Often, we find that families can experience significant support and solace in talking with other parents whose newborns have required hospitalization in the Riley Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. If this parental support would be helpful to your family, we are committed to identifying and connecting you to parents with previous Neonatal Intensive Care Unit experience. These relationships can foster trust and support during your pregnancy and extend through your hospital stay. In addition, tours of the Riley Neonatal Intensive Care Unit are also provided by members of the IU-Riley Perinatal Center team. These tours are respectful of each patient and family with careful attention to confidentiality and the critical nature of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

Inpatient Resource

Numerous services are at your fingertips to support you during and after your pregnancy. We emphasize the importance of maternal support after the birth of your child. Not only will the staff within the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit support you and your family, but ancillary services are available upon request. Lactation consultants welcome questions and offer teaching and support to mothers following delivery. Riley Social Workers and Family Support Coordinators help mothers and their families navigate the medical system during stays in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, both before and after birth. Their services can assist with questions ranging from insurance to emotional support and are vital to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit admission.

Family Education Center

The Family Resource Center is comprised of four components: the Riley Family Education Center, the Edward A. Block Family Library, the Ronald McDonald House at Riley, and the Riley Chapel. Each area of the Family Resource Center is designed to serve as an educational and healing sanctuary for parents and families of hospitalized patients. The Family Education Center provides a personalized teaching environment for any family interested in learning more about their child’s illness. From classes to walking through a simulated bedroom layout, the Education Center helps foster questions and support with individual or group sessions. These sessions are lead by professionals with a broad range of information and can be tailored to specific diseases or illnesses as family needs are identified. In conjunction with the other components of the Family Resource Center, the Education Center serves to equip families with the knowledge and skills necessary to support and encourage understanding of their loved one’s condition.

Ronald McDonald House

Many of our patients and families travel great distances to receive care at the IU-Riley Perinatal Center. If your infant requires care in the nursery following delivery, accommodations are available for you and your immediate family at the Ronald McDonald House at the Riley Hospital for Children. Rooms are located both inside Riley Hospital and on-campus, with transportation arrangements included. These overnight rooms are limited to those families with children in the critical care units only.