One of the important planning after a mother gets her pregnancy confirmed is where to go for the routine checkups and delivery. In most cases, elders in the family decide the maternity healthcare facility for the expecting mother. They either go with their own past experience or believe on the experience of any known who recently gave birth. After becoming a mother myself, I feel an expecting mother needs both a good hospital and a good OB-Gyn. Her first 9 months should be under the care of an experienced OB-Gyn and her delivery should happen in a facility which is fully equipped with best class services.
In our country, there are two main trends in deciding the maternity health care facility :
1. Families like the hospital and there they opt for any OB-Gyn practising there when needed. They don’t do much research while deciding on their doctor. They feel as the hospital is under budget and many of their known visited the same hospital, they go with the choice of the crowd.
2. Families like any particular Gyn and decide to go for any of the hospitals where that Gyn is affiliated. In today’s time, most of the Gyns are affiliated to more than one hospital at a time. Here families don’t care about understanding the facilities available in the hospital.
In both the cases mentioned above, if any problem comes, no one is accounted responsible. And it is only the expecting mother and her child who suffer. Now, this mindset should be changed. We need to carefully decide OB-Gyn doctor and hospital for maternity care and delivery.
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How to decide if the maternity hospital is good?
1. The reputation of the hospital: You can begin by finding what kind of a reputation the hospital has. You can check the hospital website that generally lists the details of the medical staff and the facilities offered. A few hospitals also publish their achievements and testimonials of the clients. In addition to this, a google search with the name of the hospital gives you a lot of information.
2. Past records: An excellent way to know how good the hospital is to go and talk with the mothers who have been treated there in past. They can tell you the actual facts. How was the behaviour of the staff, what were the facilities given and how much they changed to any facility? You can get complete feedback from them. Also, you should notice what is the ratio of normal and C sec delivery there. If a hospital has the maximum number of C sec delivery, it is not a good option.
3. Take a tour of the hospital: Although taking feedback and reading about the hospital might be helpful, it is best to give a visit there so you can see yourself what the maternity unit is like. Visit NICU as well and ask about the number of incubators available in the hospital. Take a note of the changes per facility and don’t forget to check their affiliation with Third Party Administrator (TPA).
How to decide if the OB-Gyn is good?
Most of the people don’t understand the difference between a Gynecologist and an Obstetrician. A gynaecologist is a doctor who specializes in the medical care of women and their reproductive system (vagina, ovaries, and uterus). On the other hand, an Obstetrician is a doctor who specializes in the surgical care of women and their children during pregnancy, childbirth, and post-natal care. In today’s time, most of the gynaecologists are obstetricians also. However, if you visit any old lady doctor, she might recommend you another doctor in case one has chances of surgical delivery.
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Likewise, check the past record of the doctor along with taking feedback from other people. How much is her experience? What is the qualification of the doctor? With how many hospitals she works? If she is visiting more than 3 hospitals, this means she is a busy bee and would not be able to give time in an emergency. Past records also play a great role. If she is an experienced doctor, this means, she has seen ample of cases and can handle any situation.
The doctor and the hospital, both play a big role in making a mother’s journey during pregnancy comfortable. So, families should spend time in deciding where to go for routine checkups and eventually for the birthing. There are a lot of factors that affect this decision like; budget, distance and social norms. However, families should realize that a mother gives so much from her body to create and nurture a new life in her. She deserves the best care.
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