The Hospital Tour: What To Ask
There’s so many things that get thrown at you when you’re pregnant.
SO. MANY. THINGS.
When to have a baby shower? Should you even have one? What do you need in the diaper bag? When should that be packed? Do we need a nursery? What is the theme going to be? Do we want a dock a tot or a bassinet? Should we let family visit in the hospital or wait until we get home? What childbirth class do we take? Do we take one of the hospital ones or an out of hospital one? When do we take those classes? How many meals should we have prepped for after we get home from the hospital? How much will I bleed? Seriously, I could go on and on….
What to ask during the hospital tour!
Where do you park? This is important because so many hospitals have parking structures that aren’t near where you’re going to be entering. I’ve attended a few births (like at Scripps Encinitas) where the parking garage is legit behind the hospital and even behind a few other buildings where you have a 5 minute walk ahead of you. Which is fantastic to keep labor progressing and moving those hips, unless baby is a few surges away and you don’t want to catch your own baby. Many hospitals allow a car to park in the round-a-bout as long as it gets moved fairly quickly. I’ve had a client leave their car in the round-a-bout for almost 6 hours before the hospital started threatening to have it towed, sorry not sorry a baby was coming 🤷🏼♀️
Where is triage and what is the protocol there? This is a really good question especially if you have a doula. Some hospitals don’t allow a doula back into triage and some do. And then even those that say they don’t sometimes do. It’s really a crap shoot on who’s working that day and what mood they are in however many hospitals are changing their protocols to allow doulas into more areas of the hospital that would not have otherwise allowed it since they are seeing how beneficial doula’s can be. Almost all the time a birth photographer is not going to be allowed back into triage (unless they are your doula as well 😉).
When does the hospital want you to show up? A lot of hospitals I’m hearing have changed their asking of low-risk first time parents to head to the hospital at 3-1-1 (3 minutes apart, lasting one minute, lasting for one hour). The main reason hospitals ask this is they are really trying to reduce their cesarean rate. The sooner you head to the hospital, the greater risk of medical interventions happening. Most hospitals recommend a 4/5-1-1 pattern for first time parents though. Your GBS status and your plan for that may or may not change when you decide to head to the hospital, as well as your plan for medications or planning unmedicated.
What is the hospitals cesarean rate? This is especially important as sometimes it dictates when they want you to show up, like previously stated. This is essentially your risk of having an unplanned cesarean birth if you are wanting a vaginal birth.
How many people can be in the L&D room with you? Does your doula or birth photographer count as one of your guests? I’ve had hospitals count me as a guest, but then also not count me as a guest for my client so asking their views on this can help with how many people you would like in the room. And a reminder though that what got baby in, needs to get baby out (i.e. not being watched and making sure we have oxytocin flowing). Many birth workers recommend limiting the amount of people that will be in the room with you. However at the end of the day it’s completely up to you and what you feel comfortable with and how you will feel best supported.
What is their policy on photography/videography? This pertains to you even if you choose not to hire a photographer/videographer. If you want a friend or you partner to take cell phone photos, you may have to sign a release form to be able to. So knowing this ahead of time, especially if you show up in late labor, can help “ease the blow” if they won’t “allow” it.
Do they have wireless monitors? THIS is such an important question. This is a fantastic way to get the natural physiological processes of labor to keep going by remaining upright while still making all your nurses happy by being monitored. Even though intermittent monitoring is safe for low risk pregnant people, many care providers do not feel comfortable with intermittent monitoring. Which is where wireless monitors come in handy!!
What is their protocol on the newborn procedures? This pertains to delayed cord clamping, skin to skin, when they measure and weigh baby, if you’re doing Erythromycin (antibiotic ointment) or the Vitamin K shot and when they give them to the baby, do they follow Golden Hour? Many of these are the first big decision you’ll make as parents, so you want a hospital that is going to follow your wishes.
How long are you in the L&D room after birth, and then how long are you in the hospital before you’re released? Most hospitals, if everyone is healthy, will keep you in your L&D room for about 2 hours postpartum before taking you to your postpartum room. And then many hospitals will keep first time parents who have a vaginal birth about two days as long as everyone is healthy. Second and subsequent time parents can typically go home after 24 hours as long as everyone is doing well. For cesarean births, most hospitals will keep you between 3-5 days. It’s major surgery so they want to make sure the birthing person is physically doing ok.
What is their protocol for releasing you? Many hospitals will make you take a class before you are able to be released. A lot of it is baby care basics and being as comfortable as possible heading home. Do they inspect the car seat in your car or just visually see that there is a car seat installed? How many bowel movements do you need to have had to be released? If you’re being released with a prescription, where do you pick it up? What appointments need to be made to be released? When do patients typically get released? This is a fantastic question and one I didn’t ask at our hospital tour. We were released AT RUSH HOUR. Talk about a nerve wracking drive home 😳 Lots of things typically need to happen to have a smooth release from the hospital.
breathe. I know it sounds like a lot!
Make sure to write your questions down though! Use the notepad on your phone, or download a notepad app. It’ll make it easy for you to add things throughout your day as you come up with questions. It’ll also make it easy as you’ll have your phone with you already (unless pregnancy brain made you forget it at home 😂).
But most important of all, trust your gut. If you don’t feel like your hospital is telling you the truth or isn’t telling you the full story, you can always switch! No hospital can turn you away if you are in labor. They just like for you to show up with your medical records (prenatal ones especially) as it makes their job a little easier 😉
And remember:
babies come out.
They don’t stay in there forever.