Ladies and gentlemen, we have selected a hospital!
Today we visited the other hospital in town for a tour. I got heart palpitations as we walked from the elevator to the maternity wing, but when we turned the corner, Joe said, “Hey Liz, look how bright and cheery it is.” He was right. It looked as homey as a hospital could get. That made me feel a little better and the palpitations subsided.
The L&D rooms were nice, very similar to the other place we visited. The primary difference that we noticed was the tone of the tour. The nurse who led us around was very positive, and since having a natural birth is really important to us, I was incredibly relieved to hear how open they are to it, and that they really encourage mothers who want to pursue it. One of my biggest fears is that the staff will not be on board with what we want and will try to push us into doing something that we don’t want to do. It did not seem to be the case at this particular hospital at all.
The other thing we really liked about this place were some of their protocols. For example, they welcome babies to “room in” with the parents. In other words you don’t have to send your baby off to the nursery for a mandatory stay, which we learned is the standard procedure at some hospitals.
Cross that off the list now. Next!
1 comment:
Just remember that sometimes your "birth plan" may go out the window. I had one but had to change it. Whatever you do, don't be too hard on yourself if you can't keep the birth as you feel it has to be....some things are beyond your control.
One thing on "rooming in". I hated it when people gave me advice and I would cringe but, I wish someone would have said to me that it's okay to let the nurses watch your baby a bit while you sleep, esp. if you have a c-section. I bawled when I gave into the offer from the nurse but my husband looked at me and said, "this may be your only good sleep for awhile and you're recovering from major surgery. Every person is different. You and your baby will bond, no matter how you do it, rooming in or not..and, sometimes, you may not bond right away even though you're holding the baby for hours. It may take awhile..another thing I wish someone would have told me.
Love,
Barbara
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