Health Answers

You have selected a doctor and a hospital. Now the contractions have started and you have arrived at the hospital. What happens next?

Many mothers-to-be enter the hospital through the emergency room when they know they are in labor. They can go straight to labor and delivery without having to go through traditional ER triage.

If the mother has a scheduled cesarean, she will be admitted through the hospital admission department instead, and just report at the time agreed upon with her obstetrician and the hospital.

In the maternity ward, expectant moms will be assigned a private room. They will remain there for labor and delivery of their baby.

Many hospitals have decorated these rooms to be inviting and home-like, with a comfortable bed, a bathtub, a sofa, a television and maybe a rocking chair. Some hospitals keep moms in these same rooms for their postpartum stay as well.

These rooms are fully equipped with medical equipment, even if you can’t see it. If the mother-to-be begins to have complications, oxygen and suction equipment are pulled from closets, the bed can break away to facilitate delivery, and the bed is on wheels so a quick trip to the OR is possible.

This environment can make an expectant mom feel like she has the best of both worlds. In most cases she can labor with whoever she pleases in a comfortable room where she can bathe, watch TV, take a nap or rock quietly. But if trouble unexpectedly shows up, she is able to be attended promptly with needed medical expertise.

A mother-to-be can also learn what to expect in the hospital during her birth by taking a tour of the maternity ward. This is something that most hospitals offer.

You sign up for the tour, and a large group of expectant parents are given a tour of the rooms, what to do during admission, what kind of options are available to them during labor, what the hospital does for the baby after it is born and  more. By taking the tour, expectant parents will know where to go when they are in labor, and they will be somewhat familiar with the birthing environment.

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