The Hospital Tour

Our first impression of the Meriter Hospital's birthing room was, "Wow." I was expecting a hospital room type feel to it but instead was surprised with what looked like a hotel room. On one side of the wall was a glass partition that leads into a bathroom with a whirlpool / jacuzzi. The room has a large flat screen TV with build in DVD player and other multimedia options for entertainment. The tour guide starts the tour with, "When you arrive please pull up at the front so that our valet can take care of your car. This is free." I was impressed and it just got better after that. On the floor of the birthing room is a kitchen providing free food and if that is not sufficient, they have a menu that looked like something from a restaurant. The birthing room itself is fully self contained, meaning that during the delivery of the baby they won't be bringing in any medical equipment as all the equipment is already in the room -- but here is the kicker, you can't see medical equipment because they are all concealed and only taken out of their hiding place as needed. Even the surgical lights are recessed into the ceiling and the lights follow a remote control that the doctor holds in his hand. The tour guide talked about some major changes in the hospital customs due to recent research including the baby now sleeps in the same room with the mother at all times (the nursery is usually empty), the mother is able to deliver the baby at any posture (the bed is specially designed to accommodate any position including squatting), comfort of the mother is placed at the highest priority and all sort of bouncy balls, hydrotherapy or acupuncture (if requested) is made available. Clearly delivering a baby will be painful and uncomfortable but our hospital really goes to incredible lengths to provide support and comfort.

Some of the freebies we get in addition to all the special treatment include:

• Professional photographer paid for by the hospital
• Swaddle blanket
• Thermometer and a few baby first aid items
• Hand knitted beanie