What to pay attention to when choosing a maternity hospital

The expectant mother cares about many issues – shopping, care, the regime of the day of the future baby. A lot of questions in preparation for becoming a mother, the choice of a maternity hospital, as well as, possibly, a specific doctor, causes. And if in small towns the choice of medical institutions is small, then residents of cities with millions of people sometimes choose from ten maternity hospitals. This article describes the main criteria for choosing a maternity hospital

Location

It’s good if you don’t have to get to the hospital for a long time. Firstly, pregnant women often begin to be seen by a doctor in a certain maternity hospital from 30-32 weeks, which means that they will have to go there 4-8 times before giving birth. But the most important thing is that the birth itself can be rapid, it is advisable to get to the hospital as soon as possible, and not stand in traffic jams, getting from one end of the city to the other. The exception is the narrow specialization of the maternity hospital or its location in the regional center. In the second case, they are usually hospitalized in advance. Usually in large cities, maternity hospitals are assigned to certain areas and, if there are no special indications, the residential complex gives a referral to the district medical institution.

Specialization

It was mentioned above. As a rule, maternity hospitals in large cities are more or less universal, and in small ones they do not have a specific specialization. But if the institution specializes in the management of pregnancy and childbirth with Rh-conflict of mother and fetus, natural childbirth after cesarean section, vertical childbirth, problems with the heart, kidneys of the expectant mother – as a rule, a women’s consultation gives direction there. If the woman in labor did not undergo medical examinations during pregnancy or was not fully examined, a referral to the observational department is issued. Expectant mothers with hepatitis B and C, HIV, as well as pregnant women from prison are also sent there to give birth. There are also maternity hospitals and departments for premature babies – they are often sent there when there is a threat of premature birth or taken by ambulance upon the fact of an early delivery.

Washing schedule

Once or twice a year, each maternity hospital is closed for washing for several weeks. There is a schedule of these events, as a rule, you can find out the terms in the women’s consultation, call the maternity hospital itself or ask at the parent forum of your city. Take these dates into account, compare them with your PDR deadline. But keep in mind, you can give birth a few weeks earlier or later. Therefore, give up the maternity hospital, even if the date of its washing is about a month from the date of the upcoming birth, so that you do not have to look for a new doctor in recent weeks.

Joint and separate stay

Separation from the baby is a thing of the past. However, even now there are maternity hospitals where babies are brought only for feeding. Find out about these nuances in advance, if it is fundamentally important for you.

Living conditions

Find out from doctors and on the forums of mothers about the conditions in the maternity hospital itself – is there a shower in the ward or is there one on the entire floor. What kind of food, whether there are service chambers. Perhaps these opinions will help you in choosing.

However, you can simply rely on the referral of the women’s consultation and the decision of the ambulance team – even if you did not choose the maternity hospital in advance, did not agree with the doctor.