maternity ward tour?

nicoleh55 · February 2013

Any of the new moms out there doing a maternity ward tour? (in addition to your classes?

If you already took one, would you recommend it?

TIA

RussianMommy · February 2013

we are doing a hospital tour next month along with birthing classes and newborn care classes.. from what i've heard from other ppl, it depends on who you take the birth classes with that makes the hospital tour interesting/worth it.

nicoleh55 · February 2013

well we arent taking our classes through the hospital, but we know which hospital im delivering at, so an easy phone call should do the trick right?

mccall35 · February 2013

We took one, as it was included with our prenatal classes. It was worth it for me because I'm the kind of person who likes to have something familiar during an unfamiliar experience (labour is new to me as I'm a FTM). It's also nice as some of the bigger more complicated hospitals are a bit tricky to navigate if you've never been to the particular unit/floor.

hugmonkey · February 2013

I took one and it actually convinced me to choose hospitals. So, yes, I would say go for it. They're usually free, so why not?

minerswife17 · February 2013

I called about going on one last week, they contacted me today and said that they don't do them. Ummm hello? That's insane!!

RussianMommy · February 2013

nicoleh55:
well we arent taking our classes through the hospital, but we know which hospital im delivering at, so an easy phone call should do the trick right?

ours isnt through the hospital either. but either way, I think they are worth it.

meheron80 · February 2013

I actually took the tour again even though we had LO there. I had questions this time regarding having a boy vs girl, his surgery etc... They walk you through skipping the ER, where to go, triage vs getting a room. When you get a room, visitor passes, we talked about meals, lactation specialist, what labor items they have for you to use, etc... We never took a class but enjoyed our walkthrough!!!

snok83 · February 2013

We took a tour and found it helpful but we are also first time parents. It was nice knowing where to go when the time comes or if a concern arises in pregnancy. Prior to this, we had no clue which floor or where we needed to enter at. We also found out that the normal entrance is locked at 9 pm so if it is later than this we must go through the ER entrace. Our tour was short under 30 minute so I would recommend it.

amykins1283 · February 2013

I found it to be very helpful the first time. The hospital I deliver at is huge, they deliver 60 to 80 babies a day on average, and is a beast to navigate if you don't know where you are going. Plus it was comforting to see the rooms and all the equipment and get a basic overview of their procedures.

SarahRae85 · February 2013

Third timer and I still went on the hospital tour, because it's a new hospital. It was worth it. I didn't even know where the L&D area was in the hospital, now I do. Plus I know their processes, what the rooms look like, how BFing friendly the hospital is (was pleased to learn my hospital prefers to not use the warming table and do skin to skin, plus gives you bonding time before transitioning you out of the L&D and into recovery). They also pointed out where the emergency OR is and where DH might wait if necessary, where you'll recover after that, etc.

Having experienced a truly terrible hospital my first time around, knowing what my current hospital's standard practices are allowed me to be aware of what I may need to request when the time comes. It also lowered my expectations a little from my 2nd hospital experience (mostly because there's no DVD player in the rooms, lol).

InkedMegs · February 2013

Definitely worth it. I got very nervous when we went into the delivery room and saw all of the equipment. The mirror and light that come down from the ceiling? Freaky. But now I've seen it and I can feel a little better when it's "go" time.

They also go over how many people you can have in each area (triage, delivery) and gave us a booklet that covered pretty much everything we'll encounter during our stay.

Aisham28 · February 2013

I took it before I gave birth. For me it was pointless bc by the time I was in labor I forgot everything lol. I never did any of the classes. My lo is 5 months and i have yet to say "man I wish I took that class!" But if you have anxiety about it then definitely go to help calm you and get you ready.

MT-Head · February 2013

I did one with no. 1, as part of my 1-day birth class. It was interesting, because I hadn't been to the hospital at all before, and to see the accommodations in the L&D rooms. I am not going on one with this baby, because it was only 2.5 years ago and nothing has changed there in that time.

keithsbride · February 2013

We did one last week and found it to be a HUGE waste of time. I think it could be important and that there is a lot of information that can be shared - but our hospital and the woman running the tour were HORRIBLE.

Here is a L&D room. See? Here are the monitors.

Here is a PP room. See? Here is Dad's chair.

Here is the nursery. There are no babies in there now. You should keep your baby in your room.

OK - have a good weekend bye!

It was really really awful. And if anyone had any questions she said it would be best to ask our doctors.

traneshaph · February 2013

I did mine and I'd recommend it. It was nice to actually go into one of the labor & delivery rooms and then see the recovery suite where I'd be w/ baby. We got to see the nursery, gift shop, learn some general hospital directions and where everything was located (the cafeteria, vending machines, L&D check-in, the waiting area where my exteded fam would be stationed, parking, etc.)

It was good to cancel out some of the unknowns. I'll have enough anxiety about labor, pain, delivering for the first time, etc. I'd like to "know" something and have something feel familiar when I arrive to deliver. It'll take the edge off for me. But........that's just me. Good luck!

Spacebunny19 · February 2013

We did our tour before DD#1 and even though we're delivering again at the same hospital, we'll do the tour again because they did a huge remodel that may impact some of the policies (such as their single/double room issues) and some of the amenities, which'll help me know what to pack. (Ex: I packed toiletries last time only to find out my room didn't have a shower. Most of the rooms did but mine didn't, so it was a waste of space.)

It's also the best place/time to ask about current policies (such as visitor restrictions, any flu precautions/limitations, etc.)

It's never very long so it was worth it for us last time and I anticipate it being worth the time this round too.

pinkiemo · February 2013

We toured with DD and it was ok, I think we actually left early.

I just did another one last night as we are delivering at a different hospital and this time I think it was worth it because I knew which questions to ask. I had concerns this time around based upon previous experience which made it helpful to get them addressed before showing up in labor.

It's also a great time to get a rundown of hospital policies so you're not surprised or having to deal with the unexpected on labor day.

The Steph009 · February 2013

Already did a maternity ward tour. I do recommend you take the tour. they give plenty of information, answer any questions either from you or your partner, and show you different rooms. They also explain to you how many people can be in the room with you for natural birth and c section. they do show you where the operations take place and where they keep the babies so the tour was very helpful for me.

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