For most women, finding just the right caregiver to be with you for your birth is essential and yet difficult.  For many, pregnancy is not a time of stability, such realities as moving to a new area can greatly impact your mindset as you prepare to give birth. Leaving friends and family and the comfort and familiarity of a home can leave you feeling alienated and unfamiliar with the “birth world” you now live in.  Establishing where, how and with whom can give you comfort and stability no matter how different and new your surroundings.

CHOOSING A PLACE TO GIVE BIRTH

Before you choose your caregiver, decide where you want to be when you give birth.  Is there a hospital that you want to be at more than another in your area?  Do you want to give birth at a birth center or in your home? Answer these questions first, because the caregiver you have chosen may only be able to practice at specific hospitals or birth centers.

In deciding on where to give birth, don’t just look at the pretty wallpaper and the bedspread.  When it comes down to what is important for your comfort during your labor and birth, you won’t be looking at the wallpaper!   Here is a list of things you want to look for during a tour of the birthplace and questions to ask:

SOME QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT WANT TO CONSIDER

• Is there a shower?
• Does it have a hand held nozzle?
• Is there room for a birth ball and you in the shower? 
• Does it have water pressure?  (I know that seems like a strange question, but I have been in hospitals where you turn on the shower and a trickle comes out.)
• Does it have a tub?
• It is large enough for you to have comfort during labor?
• Do they offer water births?

The previous questions are important because water (hydrotherapy) helps take the pain of contractions away as well as providing relaxation for you.

• Is there a rocking chair?
• Does it have a footstool for added comfort?
• Is the rocker hard or does it “give” with your body? 
• Does the room have a chair or a love seat that makes into a bed for your partner?
• What is the rooming in policy?   What does this mean?????
• Are juices, ice, water, tea, pop cycles and other food available for me to eat? 
• Are they available to me at all times? (Many times food and drinks are kept locked and you have to call a nurse each time you need something.  Sometimes the nurse is busy with one or two other laboring women and you will need to wait.)
• Is there a lactation consultant?
• Is she available every day or just on call?
• Is there a number you can call when you get home for additional help with breastfeeding?
• Can my baby be with me all the time?
• Is the baby taken to the nursery for observation?
• What are you observing when my baby is in the nursery?
• When the baby is born, is the baby placed on my belly or is it taken straight to the warmer?
• How long can I hold my baby before they will “check” him/her out.
• Can my other children be present?
• How many people may I have in the birthing room?
• What is their cesarean rate?
• If I have to have a cesarean, can my partner be with me in the OR?
  Can my doula be with me too? (In most hospitals, only one person is allowed to be in the OR with the mom.  Your caregiver and or anastesiologist can make an exception.)
• Are VBACS allowed?  (VBAC stands for vaginal birth after cesarean)

QUESTIONS TO ASK A POTENTIANAL CAREGIVER

• What is your cesarean rate?
• Do you do VBAC’s?
• Do you require constant fetal monitoring or intermittent?
• What is your episiotomy rate?
• Will I have the freedom to be able to change positions to help my labor and pain level?
• Can I choose positions I would like to be in for pushing and the birth of my baby?
• What is your forceps and vacuum delivery rate?
• Do you require an IV?
• Can I have only a heplock instead?
• What percentage of the births you do are inductions?
• What reasons would you induce?
• How long would you let me go past my due date?
• If I do have to have an induction, what methods do you use?

This is not a complete list of information to ask your caregiver, but is provided to give you some guidelines for what might be important to ask.   Please include any additional areas of concern and importance to you.  If you do have questions about any of the information provided, please contact us.