The question of where to have your baby can be a tedious one, and sometimes mothers are left with conflicting choices throughout their pregnancy.
It is wise to give birth in a hospital
Choosing a hospital approved by the health administration and qualified to assist in childbirth is the first and foremost prerequisite, and it is wise to have a hospital birth. In urban areas, nearly 100 percent of births take place in hospitals, while in rural areas or in areas with limited transportation, births take place at home or in informal medical institutions.
It is better to have the same hospital for perinatal care and delivery
I personally recommend that the same hospital be used for both perinatal care and delivery. This way, you will be familiar with the surrounding environment, medical procedures, and medical staff from the early stages of pregnancy, and you will make good friends with many pregnant mothers while you are waiting for care.
Although your health care doctor may not be present during the delivery, he or she can participate in the treatment to a certain extent, which makes you feel like you have someone to rely on. Sometimes it is more useful than “having someone you know”.
Even if your health care provider is not present at the time of delivery, the health care providers at the same hospital are very familiar with the process of their own health care programs and the normal values of tests, so it is easy to grasp your situation. Otherwise, if you go to one hospital for prenatal care and another “strange” hospital for delivery, you will feel “at a loss and alone”.
Proximity to home or easy access to transportation is also important
Proximity to home or easy access to transportation is also an important condition, as traffic congestion in cities is a major problem nowadays. Regular prenatal care and emergency visits during pregnancy require many trips between home, work and hospital. If the traffic is not good, it will delay the condition and treatment.
In addition, after the birth of a baby, family members and friends visit more often, and in order to ensure maternal nutrition, family members often send soup, meals and necessities, etc. It is very convenient if it is close to home.
Ordinary pregnant mothers can choose to give birth in a maternal and child health center
If a pregnant mother is in good health, has no chronic diseases before pregnancy, and the prenatal checkups are basically normal, she can choose a maternal and child health center for delivery. All local maternal and child health centers are basically specialized hospitals with obstetrics as the leading specialty, and the medical staff has rich experience in prenatal care and delivery handling, so it is not a bad choice for you.
Choose a health care and delivery hospital according to your financial condition
As for the economic cost, it is also necessary to consider it in real terms, including prenatal care and hospital delivery.
Most public hospitals have outdated “hardware”, but they charge a flat rate, and unless the condition is critical and requires major resuscitation, the cost for mother and baby is not too high.
The private hospitals and joint venture hospitals have a better medical environment, fewer patients, more services, but higher costs, so I hope that the expectant parents will choose the health care and delivery hospitals according to their economic conditions under the premise of medical quality assurance.
High-risk pregnant mothers should choose a general hospital for health care and delivery
If a pregnant mother has a chronic disease before pregnancy that requires treatment and observation, or if a more serious complication occurs during pregnancy, she needs not only the care of an obstetrician, but also the guidance and treatment of other related specialists.
Preterm labor is more likely to occur in mothers with severe comorbidities or complications, and the risk of delivery is high, requiring joint treatment by multiple doctors.
If the newborn (or preterm baby) needs to be treated in a neonatal ward (or neonatal intensive care unit) as soon as possible after birth, it is recommended that such a mother choose a general hospital directly after the pregnancy for delivery because of the above factors.
In case of serious abnormalities, the hospital will refer the mother to a general hospital with maternal and fetal care capabilities (e.g., there are centers for critical maternal care in various places).