Touring the hospital

A lot of people will choose to skip the option to tour the hospital or facility in which they will be delivering their baby. I have to strongly recommend that you partake in this free service provided to you. Having an idea of the layout of the hospital will definitely come in handy on delivery day, both for you and your coach. It also will help you both keep your cool on the day of. Here are few other things to make sure you know before D Day.
1. Where do you check in? Some hospitals, especially smaller ones, have you check in at the main desk during the day, but in the emergency room during the night. So make sure you know where to go.
2. Where do you park? Some facilities will actually have designated parking areas for pregnant woman. Others have specific overnight parking areas – you will be there for no less than 24 hours (the American Pediatric Association requires that a newborn be kept in the hospital for a minimum of 24 hours after the delivery), so do not park at a meter or in a timed slot.
3. Can you pre-register? Many hospitals will allow you to fill out the bulk of the paper work prior to your arrival. This is can be very useful if you are in the throes of full blown labor when you arrive.
4. What’s the layout of the labor and delivery ward? Will you deliver in one room and recover in another? Is there a nursery? Who is allowed to come into this part of the hospital and at what hours?
5. Although it might be difficult, you will want to check out the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Of course no one wants to have to use this part of the hospital, but it is a good idea to have an visual idea of what is going on in there, so that if you do need to use the NICU you will not be frightened by the layout.
6. Where is the food?? While it is likely that you will get meals delivered to your room after the baby is born, your partner/coach will not have this luxury. It is important to know what is available and when it is available. Many maternity wards will have a room or two (depending on size) with beverages and snack items as well as utensils and ice chips. It is smart to know where this is.
7. Are you required to stay in your room or can walk the halls? While this will largely depend on whether or not you have received medication, you will still want to know the rules so that you can make your birth plan accordingly.
All of this is to help you feel more comfortable in your surroundings, so that you can focus on your labor. Usually, these tours are a group activitiy, but many facilities will offer private tours. Also they may offer separate tours for the siblings – so that they have an idea of what to expect when they come to visit mommy in the hospital. Either way, it is likely that these tours fill up quickly, so register early to be sure that you will get in well before your go into labor.

Word of the Week

Mammory gland – noun – any of the compound accessory reproductive organs of female mammals that occur in pairs on the chest or ventral surface and contain milk-producing lobes with ducts that empty into an external nipple, becoming functional when young are born and secreting milk for the duration of suckling. (www.dictionary.com)

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