Questions to ask during hospital maternity tour

[ombradellarosa]

Hey ladies! So I did a search of June 15, May 15, July 15, and 2nd Tri and it doesn't seem like there's a thread about this yet. Hopefully this helps someone else too!

I have what the hospital calls a "Maternitour" of L&D with DH tomorrow. I can't believe I'm so late coming up with questions for this! I know I want to ask about skin-to-skin, who's allowed in the delivery room (how many people), and whether they offer nitrous oxide, but what else? I don't want to miss something important and slap myself later. I know it's not a last-chance thing but I still want to be prepared.

So, other FTMs, what kinds of things do you want to know? STM+, what would you ask, having been through this before? TIA!

XP in June 15 and 2nd Tri.

[econmarie]

I think it depends on the type of birth you are hoping for. Are you planning for a med-free, some pain management, epidural, or c-section birth? I think the list of questions would be different. In terms of post-birth procedures, I asked the following:

Is pitocin required?
How long will you allow the cord to stay intact?
How long will you wait for the placenta to be delivered?
Do you apply traction to the cord to deliver the placenta faster?
Can I keep the placenta?
How long must I stay at the hospital before being discharged?
Does the hospital require the baby to have a bath?
Can the baby stay with a parent at all times? Even for procedures? Even if there are issues?
Is there a nursery?
Can the baby room in with me?

These questions may be different for you if you want different things. I want to leave as soon as possible after the birth, keep the baby with me at all times, and avoid as much medication as possible, but those may not be your preferences.

[ashiscute]

I asked what the hospital provided versus what you should bring. Also important to learn where entrances for L&D versus ER are and when you can use L&D and when it's closed.

I would expect they will give you lots of info and most info without asking though.

[ombradellarosa]

Thank you for the thoughtful responses! You're right, ashiscute, they answered most of my questions without me having to ask. It seems like a good fit! That's a relief since it's my best option in the area

[annabananabomb]

Here are mine! Although I phrased them a little more gently:

While our main goal is to keep me and the baby healthy during delivery, our plan is for the process to be as natural as possible, with no pain relief or interventions. I know that pain relief and interventions might be necessary, and we're ok with plans changing once the labour starts, but I’d like to try as much as possible without either. What do you think about this?
I plan to refuse almost all vaginal checks. What do you think about this?
What other ways might you assess dilation?
Do you deliver breech? Do you deliver all kinds of breech?
How far ‘overdue’ could I go before you induce?
In what other circumstances do you induce?
What do you do in the case of a nuchal cord?
What is your policy on cord clamping / cutting? How long can you delay cord cutting?
I would like the baby to be placed straight on my chest for skin to skin contact and want to give the ok before it is taken away for cleaning, checks etc. What is your policy on this?
What is your episiotomy rate?
What is your caesarean rate?
How many people can be in the delivery room? What if we want to keep people out of the delivery room?
What kind of postpartum care do you offer? Home midwifery service?
What sort of breastfeeding support do you offer?
How long will you keep us in the hospital after the birth?
Do you have birth tubs?
Can I deliver in the tub?
What methods of pain management do you recommend?
How many midwives are in the group?
How long are the appointments?
How often will you meet prior to birth?
Are there any hospital policies that are mandatory?
How easy/difficult is it to decline procedures?
Can the baby room with you?
Is the baby required to go to the nursery?
We will have a pretty good idea of how we would like the birth to go (subject to necessary changes/interventions etc), would it be helpful to write down a birth plan and bring it to the hospital?

[Laverne]

This thread is great, I never know what questions to ask.

[ombradellarosa]

Laverne, so happy to be of service!

annabananabomb, those are great questions! I am planning to compile my notes with my original question list, add any questions I may have been missing, and try to get those answered either during OB appointments (some of them seem specific to the doctor) or during my other visits to the hospital for childbirth preparation classes and so on.

[packmomma]

Feb 18, 2015 21:01:19 GMT -5 Laverne said:

This thread is great, I never know what questions to ask.

Seconded. We go March 21st (19 weeks) to check everything out and I was going to do a dreaded Google search for questions.

[sunshinelady15]

Great thread! These are great to add to my list

[milfintraining]

I have to google a lot of the words here. This is a great thread. I'm going to learn a lot once I look up the words, lol.

[laurasuzanne2006]

Mar 5, 2015 19:40:59 GMT -5 clucky said:

Many of the actual delivery related questions should be asked of your OB. Your OB will be the one the nurses and hospital check in with and take direction from. In the instance of an emergency, it is good to know how many residents are on services.

This completely. Ask basics at the hospital tour. Directions, nursery, post baby support. Labor and delivery talk to your doctor

[frankenboom]

I'm bumping this because my doc told me to schedule my hospital tour after my A/S which is in the beginning of July, and I'm clueless.

Other suggestions?

[bunnyfungo]

As a PP said, most of those questions are for your OB, not the hospital. If you have a specific birth plan in mind, I'd ask questions about that. Ex: do all rooms have tubs for laboring? Can I request a nurse that is "natural birth" friendly? Obviously, those would be more for an unmedicated birth.

I'd ask about how often they do MOTN checks. How many glucose screenings do they do for baby? What is the room-in policy? How soon will you be discharged? Can you leave early?

It's really important to go over your birth plan with your OB. If you have anything really important, I would bring a written copy of your plan. But note that a lot of those birth plan generators online include a ton of stuff that is routine, so unnecessary to list. That's why it's important to go over with your OB.

[ugotstarbucked]

Jun 12, 2015 14:52:19 GMT -5 frankenboom said:

I'm bumping this because my doc told me to schedule my hospital tour after my A/S which is in the beginning of July, and I'm clueless.

Other suggestions?

Frank I have my tour this weekend. I will report back.

[jumpingpuddles]

This might be in the realm of totally obvious, but I didn't realize until the very, very end with my 1st that my doctor shares on-call night/weekends with another practice in the area. Even now, in a practice of 5-6, they split with another OB/midwife practice on weekends, so there's a decent chance I could deliver with someone I have never met if it's a weekend.
I'm okay with it since in my area it's apparently very common since we are more rural, but I was still surprised.

[laurasuzanne2006]

We had ours last night. It was 30 mins and we didn't really have much time for questions, but all the basics were answered. What happens when you go into labor, where to come in, look over of the rooms. They have quiet time for two hours. Typical length of stay etc

[bibliothecary]

Jun 13, 2015 12:16:09 GMT -5 @aditi said:

All I want to know is how many tubs do they have and are they available on a first come, first serve basis. DNW to labor without a tub.

Fuck yeah, tub. Mine's being dropped off in three weeks.

[bunnyfungo]

Jun 13, 2015 12:16:09 GMT -5 @aditi said:

All I want to know is how many tubs do they have and are they available on a first come, first serve basis. DNW to labor without a tub.

You might have to specifically request a room with a tub if they don't all have one. At my hospital they said that since most women get epidurals (and you can't labor in the tub once you get one), that they try to keep those open and only fill on request.