Being pregnant means that you will be delivering your child soon, and for the same you should consider some facts that will help you to choose the right hospital or health care. Whether you live in a big city or a small town, a couple of factors must be answered before you finalise the place to give birth. Especially if you have never been hospitalised before, you need to have a fair idea of your expectations and the deliverables. Not only the hospital needs to be well equipped with trained staff and nurses, it should also be in sync with your financial and emotional commitments. It is very essential that comfort level is also met with, since you are going to be through all sorts of emotions and pain during labor. We present the most common factors that you need to address before finalising a place of birth for your baby:

1. Availability of different birth options. For example, you may plan to give a completely normal birth but during labour you may choose to go in for an epidural. Some centres also provide water birth options.
2. The cost of using tests, procedures, and drugs you might require, for example, rates of inducing or bringing on labour artificially, artificially rupturing membranes, cutting episiotomies, performing caesareans, and pulling babies out with a vacuum extractor or forceps.
3. The doctor’s fees: The fees of your obstetrician may be different for a normal delivery than for a C-section. The paediatrician’s fees should also be considered. The cost of a standard room or double sharing room or the ward also varies for every hospital. You should choose according to your budget and preferences.
4. Policies and restrictions of the hospital: How many attendants can be with you? What are the visiting hours? Can your baby be with you in your recovery room after birth? Does the hospital offer “rooming in” with your baby?
5. Is your caregiver/doctor associated with your hospital of choice or will you be in the hands of a new Gynaecologist/Obstetrician?
6. The quality of medical staff in the hospital. You can know a lot about the hospital by speaking to the medical staff available and evaluating their commitment towards medical care. In order to ensure that you are making the right decision, you can find out about the reputation of the hospital over the internet and the hospital websites. You can also speak to other patients to learn from their experiences about a particular hospital.
7. Before finalizing a facility, speak to the medical staff available there to gauge their confidence level, skills and attitude. Visit the gynaecology ward, NICU and other centres in the hospital to see the kind of facilities available. You may also want to know the follow-up care that the hospital provides after the discharge of a patient.

Keeping these factors in mind, choose the right hospital for your delivery and have a happy pregnancy!