hospital tour question

MrsLaLaBug · July 2012

Please forgive my FTM ignorance at this. We have to chose from 2 hospitals and will be touring each. For any BTDT moms or anyone who has previously done a hospital tour...

What type of questions should you ask? Any specific amenities to look for that y'all really liked about your hospital? I have googled but I want some real mom opinions, also. TIA

ClarissaExplainsItAll · July 2012

we like the jacuzzi tub and the fact that the L&D room and recovery room are the same so we dont have to move after baby is born.

JMTTC · July 2012

In some hospitals there is a good chance you could share a room with another mama and some hospitals where there is no chance you will have to share a room. I would definitely NOT want to share a recovery room!

robyn2201 · July 2012

We toured two hospitals prior to DD. They actually both did a really good job explaining everything while we on the tour, that I didn't really feel like I needed to ask any questions. You can look up their c-section rates online before hand.

Keys things you might want to know whould be, where do we enter and check in during normal hours and how about after hours. One thing that stood out to me about one of the hospitals that I didn't like, was dad was not able to stay the night. That was kind of a deal breaker for me.

Compare their recovery rooms, do they have a shower? My recovery room didn't have one and while I could have gone to the "community shower", I waited till I was home. I would loved to have had a shower afterwards.

peytons mommy · July 2012

JMTTC:
In some hospitals there is a good chance you could share a room with another mama and some hospitals where there is no chance you will have to share a room. I would definitely NOT want to share a recovery room!

THIS! I didnt know my hospital had shared rooms. That is disgusting. When they told me someone was moving in with me I threw a fit! Im bleeding like crazy and I have to share a bathroom with someone. Oh NO!!!!

I had a hormonal melt down and they left me alone. I will NOT deliver this child there. I chose a hospital this time with private rooms. My friend delivered at the same hospital and she had to share a room. The lady was crying the whole time and her baby was screaming too. She was miserable.

I think more and more hospitals are going the private room route due to privacy anyway, but make sure when you tour.

MrsLaLaBug · July 2012

sweettalkin417:

We toured two hospitals prior to DD. They actually both did a really good job explaining everything while we on the tour, that I didn't really feel like I needed to ask any questions. You can look up their c-section rates online before hand.

Keys things you might want to know whould be, where do we enter and check in during normal hours and how about after hours. One thing that stood out to me about one of the hospitals that I didn't like, was dad was not able to stay the night. That was kind of a deal breaker for me.

Compare their recovery rooms, do they have a shower? My recovery room didn't have one and while I could have gone to the "community shower", I waited till I was home. I would loved to have had a shower afterwards.

thank you!

MrsLaLaBug · July 2012

peytons mommy:

JMTTC:
In some hospitals there is a good chance you could share a room with another mama and some hospitals where there is no chance you will have to share a room. I would definitely NOT want to share a recovery room!

THIS! I didnt know my hospital had shared rooms. That is disgusting. When they told me someone was moving in with me I threw a fit! Im bleeding like crazy and I have to share a bathroom with someone. Oh NO!!!!

I had a hormonal melt down and they left me alone. I will NOT deliver this child there. I chose a hospital this time with private rooms. My friend delivered at the same hospital and she had to share a room. The lady was crying the whole time and her baby was screaming too. She was miserable.

I think more and more hospitals are going the private room route due to privacy anyway, but make sure when you tour.

See, this is where I would have just automatically assumed that you would have a room to yourself. Thank you both!

StefandTodd · July 2012

We toured two hospitals and I felt like the tour guides have done it so many times, they really do generally answer the main questions you'll have - where to go, what the procedure is, etc.

For us, we had specific med-free birth goals in mind, so I really just listened and ended up selecting the hospital that was the most natural-brith friendly (had tubs to labor in, talked a lot about "if you don't want an epi" like it was a natural, normal choice to make, etc).

Sheila.Scully · July 2012

I agree with the other posters. You should definitely find out if it is a private room verses a shared room, private shower or communal, and depending on preference whether the baby has to stay in the nursery or can be in the room with you. It doesn't hurt to ask if a lactation consultant makes rounds to see new mothers while they are there. Also a good thing to find out is if and where you can walk outside the room with baby. Many hospitals have strict and vary different security measures for infants. Also it is sooo much better to register at the hospital ahead of time instead of doing the paperwork when you go into labor. If you haven't done it already, that would be a very good time to ask about that. Also visitation rules vary from hospital to hospital and during flu season they get stricter. They may also limit how many people you can have in delivery with you. These are all questions they either answered or I asked about. Also ask if your DH can get meals in the room to or if he will have to leave for the cafeteria. Oh and ask if they have WiFI or other internet access. That was important to my DH.

peacelove&mama · July 2012

JMTTC:
In some hospitals there is a good chance you could share a room with another mama and some hospitals where there is no chance you will have to share a room. I would definitely NOT want to share a recovery room!

When I gave birth to DS I had to share a recovery room. DS was such a calm baby, only cried when he was hungry... the other baby, however? Cried constantly. They also had groups of visitors at all hours (I'm talking like 5-8 people at a time, kids included), even though there were stated visiting hours and a limit of people allowed in a room. They made an exception for her apparently. I got NO sleep in the 48hrs I was there. Complaining got me nowhere either.

I'm in a new city now, so I'm going to tour this hospital and ask about that. I do not want to share again. I'd like a somewhat peaceful recovery with my new baby and family.