Delivering in a Hospital: What All Moms Need to Know
birth at hospital
Here's what to expect if you're planning to give birth in a hospital.
In This Article
Advantages of a hospital birth
Downsides of a hospital birth
Finding the right hospital for you
The cost of a hospital delivery
Which is better, a home birth or a hospital birth?
Does your idea of delivery comfort have less to do with the bed you | ll give birth in, and more to do with the medical backup you'll have on hand? If so, a hospital is probably the most comfortable choice for you — putting you in good company.
Giving birth in a hospital is by far the most popular choice of expectant couples in the United States. And it | s the recommended choice for women who have what | s considered a “high-risk” pregnancy (e.g. if you | re 35 and over, are pregnant with multiples or have a condition such as gestational diabetes).
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A hospital birth also offers the most options in terms of who will handle your delivery. While most birthing center and home births are attended by midwives (certified or direct entry), your hospital birth can be overseen by an OB/GYN, a family physician or a certified nurse-midwife (94 percent of CNM deliveries are, in fact, in regular hospitals).
Just as there are pros and cons for every choice you'll make when it comes to your childbirth experience, there are pluses and minuses when it comes to having your baby in a hospital.
Advantages of a hospital birth
Some of the plus sides of a hospital birth include:
It may be the safest option. If you're considered high-risk, it's the safest childbirth environment for you and your baby. Ditto if an unforeseen complication arises during labor (such as a prolapsed cord or placental abruption, for example).
It | s close to an operating room. If you need a cesarean section (either planned or emergency), it's the only place you can have one. And you won't have to be transferred mid-labor if it looks like you'll need one — you'll just have to move from your birthing room to the operating room.
It offers the most advanced technology. On-staff pediatricians and, in many hospitals, sophisticated newborn medical technology are available should your baby need immediate medical care.
You have easy access to pain relief. Anesthesiologists on staff are almost always available to provide pain relief medications as you request, from epidurals to narcotics.
Moms having babies in the hospital?
