Choosing a Hospital for Giving Birth: Make Your Special Delivery Great

While some mothers will choose birth centers or decide to labor at home, many mothers still choose to give birth in a hospital. Choosing a care provider for your prenatal care and delivery is important, but what some mothers overlook are their options for where they can give birth. Oftentimes, a doctor will have privileges at one or more hospital in a locality. Every hospital offers unique benefits that a pregnant mother should consider while choosing a care provider.

First, evaluate the medical services offered by each hospital. Consider whether the hospital has a neonatal intensive care unit, what specialists are on staff, and the nurse to patient ratio on the maternity floor. Nothing is more frustrating than having to wait for an hour to get your pain medication after emergency surgery because the nursing staff is short-handed. Likewise, if you have a question about your new baby, you should be able to get an answer or assistance within a reasonable amount of time.

Find out whether the hospital has an anesthesiologist on call 24 hours a day in the event you require an epidural or a spinal block. This may be particularly important if you are at risk for having an emergency cesarean section. Waiting even a few minutes for anesthesia to arrive could be devastating in some circumstances, such as a cord accident.

Ask whether the hospital has an operating room available that is adjacent to the maternity ward for use if you require a cesarean section or whether the entire hospital must share the operating facilities. In addition, explore where you will recover if you have a cesarean section. Will you share a recovery room with other patients, or will you recover in your own room? During my first cesarean delivery at Toledo Hospital, I shared a waiting and recovery area with seven other patients, and rarely saw a nurse. In contrast, during my second delivery at St. Luke's Hospital I was assigned my own nurse who stayed with me during all preparations for surgery and after surgery in my own private room. This allowed me to bond with my husband and our baby in private and in a much more comfortable environment for all of us.

Next, explore what kinds of educational programs the hospitals in your locality offer. While some hospitals will offer Lamaze classes, birthing classes, and breastfeeding classes, other hospitals will offer prenatal yoga or water aerobics. Explore these options, and talk to the nurses, doctors, or therapists who lead these classes. Get a sense of what classes you might enjoy and whether they will benefit you or simply add more stress to your pregnancy.

Finally, tour the hospital's maternity wing. While you may be urged to take this tour late in your pregnancy, I strongly recommend taking the tour as early in your pregnancy as possible at every facility you are considering. An hour-long walking tour can be very uncomfortable when you are eight or nine months pregnant, and two women on my tour got light-headed and almost passed out. Plus, if you wait until you are eight months pregnant to tour a hospital and then find out that you do not like the hospital your care provider must deliver at, you have very few options for changing your doctor or midwife.

As you tour the maternity wing or floor, look for what amenities are offered. Are the facilities clean and well kept? Specifically, does the hospital offer snacks, juice, milk, or meals on a 24-hour a day basis for breastfeeding mothers? Is there a glider or a rocker in each room? Are the rooms private, or will you share a room with other mothers? What is the bathroom like?

Get a feel for the hospital staff as well, especially about whether they answer your questions and make you feel at home. After all, some of the most important moments of your life will be spent in the hospital where you choose to deliver your baby. You deserve the best possible birth experience, and choosing the right hospital is an important step in the right direction.