Another day Another opportunity

Each morning comes with lots of new opportunities. At the end of a day if you feel that you have missed few of them, then dont worry. You will get some more the next day. But that doesnt mean that you do nothing. You need to learn from the mistakes, so that you dont repeat them the next day. You need to act, if you have been inactive. You need to be aware that you don't want to miss them the next day.

Bangalore: My Checklist for choosing the hospital for maternity

Following points should be noted in my opinion. These were some of the important points which should definitely be considered. May Not be exhaustive list. But we did use it while we zeroed on our doctor and hospital.

-Facilities available at the hospital: Check the following:

• Cost: It is very important to eliminate options of hospitals which one cannot afford to rule out any possible frustration or hassle due to budgetary constraints later. a> Insurance and affordability: If you have insurance cover, it is important to make sure that the hospital recognizes the same agency and also to check what things will be covered by the same and how much will be overhead. This includes taking into account to some extent possibilities of any common complications which arise in pregnancy, labour or delivery. Even then, it may happen that the agency may get derecognised and you have to shell out the money on your own and then settle for reimbursements from the agency later. b> If there are packages available, what does it include.
• NICU: It is very important that your hospital has a good NICU. In case of emergency, this facility might be needed for the baby. Also the location of the NICU - How far it is from your room in case you need to feed the baby 10 times during the day.
• Ambulance services
• Lactation consultants
• Dietician
• Privacy of rooms to bond with the baby
• Chaos
• Preferably in multi speciality hospitals, other specialities on different floors
• Space to walk
• Baby nursery policies
• LDR rooms separate or not: Husband allowed? Other visitors allowed? Baby allowed?
• Phototherapy machines and process of using it: These days Jaundice is very common among newborns. So, in case your baby at the time of birth needs phototherapy, you should be aware of the process : whether you can keep the baby in the same room or separate rooms and what is part of package. Ask them how much extra you should budget in case your baby has jaundice. Also check to see what % of babies are diagnosed with this in that hospital.
• Pediatricians: Do they have in-house pediatricians or who will be present at the time of baby's birth. May be a good idea to meet one of them in the hospital to get your comfort level. (Normally ignored during pregnancy but a competent neonatologist, paediatric surgeon, general paediatric doctor and associated facilities to deal with all possible complications might become very important)
• In-house store (basic items for baby, mother, etc can be a boon for the modern nuclear families), pharmacy and canteen is available 24x7.
• The nursing staff
• The in-house duty doctors
• Labour observations room
• Hospital policies regarding labour procedures: shaving, enema, food and drink allowed, mobile fetal moniters, Positions allowed, bath post delivery,
• Things to bring
• Distance of hospital

-Choosing the doctor: Check the following:

• The doctor's experience and qualification.
• It is very important for the mother to be specially comfortable and confident of the doctor.
• The frequency with which doctor attends a labour and how responsive he/she is over phone. His/her C-section vs normal delivery rate will give an idea of his/her support for normal deliveries.
• Doctor's schedule and other engagements - consults in 10 different locations
• Whom to contact if doctor is out of town or unavailable due to unforseen circumstances