Hospital tour

On Monday, Scott and I went to the hospital tour of the labor and delivery section at Scripps Encinitas. It was a little under an hour long, and I left with a very comfortable feeling about this hospital and the things they say they like to strive for. It's very in tune with what Scott and I want (or what I want, and by default what I am making Scott want!).

First, it's very easy to get to (we estimate that it will take about 20-30 minutes to get there, depending on traffic). Parking is free, there is a drop off circle right up front (like the hotel check in area), and there are plenty of parking spaces that you can park for an unlimited time right by the entrance. I am hoping that I can make it there and actually walk myself into the hospital!

Then, once we got inside, they took us up to the Birth Pavilion, which is a separate wing of the hospital that only birthing folks and support people can get into. So, there should be no sick patients walking the hallways or anything like that. Everyone needs to be buzzed in to enter this wing. They also said that if any babies have their ID bands on and they try to go through any of the doors that lead outside, an alarm will sound.

We were taken to a LDR (labor, delivery, recovery) room, and it was as nice as a room in the hospital can be. There is a bathroom with a shower, a bed that folds in multiple ways, a CD player, TV, and maybe a DVD player in the room. They have a 100% rooming in policy, which means that babies will not be taken to a nursery, they stay with you all the time.

A lot of the things that they said line up nicely with my "ideal" birth:
- No mandatory IVs
- They promote walking around - and even let you out in the gardens if you want to be outside
- No mandatory continuous fetal monitoring, and she even said that about 20 minutes an hour is all you really need if everything is going well
- The bed changes into multiple positions, and they support moms not delivering on their back or in a lying down position
- There may be a birthing ball in the room (but she said we should bring ours with us)
- It seems that it will be pretty easy to sneak food/water if I need it
- They said that they like to put babies on mom's tummy or chest, there is no need to take it away to clean it or do tests - that can all be done right on mom, and test can wait a few hours
- And the thing that this hospital is most known (and certified for) is the promotion of breast feeding. They said they like to help start the process within the first hour or two of birth, and really try to make it successful

The only downside is that after recovery, there is a possibility that there are 2 mom's in the same room. They try not to do this, unless they really need the beds. With July statistically being a heavy delivery month, hopefully we'll luck out. If the other bed is empty, they said dad is free to get in bed and spend the night. If it's not free, you just need to get the other person to agree to letting them sleep in a chair.

So overall, I think this will be a good experience, and hopefully we'll get some great nurses that day, too. This hospital also has midwives on staff, and maybe we'll look into that the next time around...