“Tour the hospital” is always something on the recommended list of things-to-do before baby comes. And it really is a great idea. I am a huge advocate of touring the hospital or birthing center before your due date. I ended up delivering two of my kids at one hospital and, due to insurance reasons that made me cranky (grrrrr!), the other two at a different hospital. For the first delivery, the hospital tour was tacked onto our birthing class and I really, really appreciated it. The tour did more than just fill us in on which door to come in – we got to ask the labor and delivery nurse giving the tour all kinds of questions about the labor and delivery process. For a first-time mom and dad, it was priceless!
When I found out that we would have to switch hospitals for the births of the last two (have I mentioned the friggin’ insurance?!), I went ahead and signed up to tour the new one too. And, again, I’m so glad that I did. For a lot of reasons. I knew that there was going to be a good chance that this birth would be a c-section (I was having twins) and I’d never done that before. So, I got to ask a lot of questions directly related to c-sections and the operating room and recovery and when did I get to hold the babies and such. And my husband got to learn first-hand where to go, which door to go in, which elevators to take. He’s not so good with directions. That’s putting it mildly. I really didn’t want to be the one navigating when the time came, potentially in labor with twins. Ugly arguments would have ensued.
So, here’s my list of great questions to ask on your hospital tour:
- What door should we use? The maternity department will sometimes have a separate entrance from the rest of the hospital.
- Where should we park?
- Should we come to the maternity department or the ER if we are laboring after hours? You really don’t want to go to the effort of parking and hauling your pregnant, laboring self into the emergency room just be told that you really need to use the entrance to the birth and maternity center, on the other side of the building.
- How can I pre-register to avoid having to go through a full check-in while in labor? You can fill out all the paperwork and give them your insurance information ahead of time. They’ll be all ready for you! And you can usually give the hospital a copy of your birth plan, if you have one, at pre-registration – so it’s part of your chart before you even get there. I also gave them a copy of my health care directive (living will) at pre-registration – kinda depressing to talk about life support when preparing for child birth but you just never know.
- Who is allowed in the labor and delivery room?
- Where is the waiting area for other family and friends?
- Are there specific visiting hours?
- Where are the snack machines and the cafeteria? (Dads especially will need to know this one!)
- Are Dads/partners provided with any meals by the hospital? Inexplicably, my husband is big fan of hospital food. Weird.
- What do the labor and delivery rooms look like? They’ll show you one if they’re not all in use on the day of your tour.
- Are there tubs or showers available in the rooms in which to labor or even deliver?
- Can you walk the halls while laboring?
- Do they have exercise balls to ease labor pains and assist in getting your baby in position to be delivered?
- Are there CD players, DVD players, etc. available for use while in early labor? My last labor and delivery room had a cassette player and a VCR. Perfect. If it was 1991, which it wasn’t. I watched a lot of ESPN while I waited. Strange, I know.
- What happens if you are admitted to be induced? Or for a caesarean section?
- What will happen if your doctor decides you need an emergency c-section?
- What kind of fetal monitoring is typical for the hospital?
- Will an anesthesiologist be available even if your labor begins after hours? And how quickly please?!
- What is the hospital’s NICU (Newborn Intensive Care Unit) level? If it’s not a level III, where and how will your baby be transferred if there is an emergency?
- What is the hospital’s policy on breastfeeding, formula, pacifiers, etc. for newborns?
- Are lactation consultants on staff or in regular rotation? ‘Cause sometimes you and your baby just need a little help working that nursing stuff out. And sometimes you need a LOT of help. And an industrial-strength hospital breast pump.
- What is the hospital’s practice regarding rooming-in with your baby?
- If mom needs a break, can she send baby to the nursery in order to take a nap or take a shower? My unsolicited advice that you probably won’t follow if you’re a first time mom and can’t bear to be separated from that cute, squishy baby: take advantage of the nursery to get a few hours of sleep. They’ll bring her back when she needs to eat and, in the meantime, you’ll get some well-earned ZZZ’s uninterrupted by weird little baby grunts and coos.
- What security measures does the hospital take to ensure your baby’s safety and identity? My babies all had a big, clunky alarm bracelet around their ankle. My husband and I each had special ID bands that had to be matched up to the baby’s ID band every time he left and returned to my room. I think this is probably pretty standard.
- What is the hospital’s policy on still and video cameras in the delivery or operating room? There is often a prohibition on photographing or recording the actual birth procedure (i.e. the moment of birth or the surgery itself) – this is for hospital and doctor liability reasons. If you know the rules ahead of time, you won’t have any problems.
- Are mothers and babies moved from the labor and delivery room after the birth? When and where? What do those rooms look like?
- Does the hospital have any special procedure if the parents want additional genetic screening performed by a private lab? Do they have a preferred lab for this screening? To learn more about supplemental genetic screening, read our article Newborn Genetic Testing – State-Required and Supplemental Tests.
- What happens if your doctor isn’t available or can’t make it to the hospital in time to deliver your baby? Are there other doctors on call? You’ll want to talk with your obstetrician about this as well, obviously. They’ve all done this hundreds of times – so there will be some contingency plan in place.
Information is your friend. Especially if you are a first-time parent, this is your preview, your opportunity to pepper a labor and delivery nurse or childbirth educator with every question you’ve been stewing over for the last few months. Every seemingly irrational fear and strange thought or stupid question – get it out of your system on the hospital tour. Believe me, these nurses have heard and seen it all. Why not get all of your questions answered a month or two before you show up to deliver? You can spend those last few weeks anxiety-free. Alright, who am I kidding? No mother is ever anxiety-free. (Never again, by the way.) But the hospital tour really, really helps. I swear. Don’t miss it!
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