Labor and Delivery Tour

Today we went on a tour of the Labor & Delivery ward of the hospital. Karin and I, and 20 other prospective parents, met with a nurse that works on the ward. She discussed what parents typically will experience. She showed us a video about epidurals (produced by SOAP), and then showed us around. I think Karin was not overly impressed with their modest efforts to make it more comfortable than a typical hospital room.

Because we are locked into Kaiser Permanente, there is not a lot of flexibility in terms of where we go. They have a total of 2 private rooms. All of the other post-partum rooms are for 2 moms and 2 babies. When you add visitors, those rooms are crowded places.

We would prefer a private room, of course. Their policy, unfortunately, is that the 2 private rooms are given to moms that undergo cesarean birth. So our choice appears to be either we have a cesarean or we have a roommate.

A third choice is for us to pay privately to be in a birthing center that is not affiliated with Kaiser. This would mean an additional $5,000 out-of-pocket. I know, from reading the Wall Street Journal, that broaching the topic of money when one is having a child is considered by many to be contemptible. But when one adds up fees for the mohel, doula, hypnoborthing teacher, books, gear, and mommy treatments, it's tough to ignore the issue. We are hoping to have something left over after the birth so we can at least feed the little one... and possibly keep him clean.

The nurse that was showing us around seemed very nice. This is a good sign. Given how things are set up at Kaiser, it is impossible for us to actually meet the staff who will be there when we go in. This includes the obstetrician. While not ideal from a continuity-of-care standpoint, it is nice to know that they are there at all times and we will not have to page them and hope for the best when the moment of truth arrives.

We are now exactly one month from the initial due date that we were given. I think this weekend we will pack a bag that will be ready for us to take to the hospital. We will also install the car seats. And I had better catch up on the reading list that I have been given. I'm a little behind.