Preparing for a Hospital Birth: Decisions, Lists and What To Expect

Welcoming a new baby can come with many questions and unknowns. Preparing for your hospital birth will help you answer those questions and have a tentative plan for bringing your new little one into the world.

Decisions To Make Before Birth

To feel prepared for your hospital birth, Madeleine Craig, MD, MBA, an OB-GYN with ProMedica Physicians Obstetrics | Gynecology – Perrysburg, recommends considering the following five questions before your birth.

1. Do you want to be induced?

If your pregnancy is low-risk and there are no concerns about waiting for your body to naturally go into labor, your provider will likely give you the option of being induced or waiting for spontaneous labor. You may carry your baby past your due date if you wait for natural labor. Induction involves using medicine or other medical methods to help your body to go into labor.

Talk to your provider about what methods of induction are available to you. Common induction methods include a membrane sweep, administering artificial oxytocin (a hormone) or intentionally breaking your water. Ask about the risks and benefits of induction for you and your pregnancy.

If you’re having a scheduled cesarean birth (C-section), your baby’s birthday will also be planned ahead of time.

2. What pain control will you use during labor?

People are often most familiar with the epidural. While this is a commonly used method of pain control during labor, it’s not your only option. Options differ based on the hospital you are birthing at but may include an epidural or spinal nerve block, nitrous oxide (also known as laughing gas), or pain-relieving medications given through an IV.

Non-medicinal pain relief options can also be an option instead of or in addition to medicinal pain relief. These options include relaxation and breathing techniques, taking a shower or bath and changing birthing positions often.

A spinal anesthetic is typically used for planned C-sections, or an epidural may be used for unplanned C-sections. With these two forms of anesthetic, you will be awake and aware of what is going on, but not able to feel pain from the operation.

3. What laboring/pushing positions do you want to try?

While you don’t need to have an exact plan for this, it’s good to explore what positions you might want to try during labor and the pushing phase. Laboring and pushing positions may include standing, squatting, kneeling, or using a birth ball or bar.

Talk to your provider about your preferences and ideas ahead of time. This will allow them to provide input on what the hospital can support, considering the rest of your birth preferences. 

4. What level of fetal monitoring do you want to have?

Ask what level of fetal monitoring your provider recommends during labor. “Typically, they will recommend continuous monitoring,” Dr. Craig shares. For a planned C-Section, they will monitor your baby before the surgery begins.

Fetal monitoring helps your birth team assess the baby during labor, and confirm that no additional actions need to be taken to keep you and baby safe. Many hospitals have portable monitors, so being continuously monitored doesn’t mean you’ll be stuck in one place.

5. What medicines do you want your baby to receive after birth?

Pediatricians recommend babies receive several medications shortly after being born. These usually include a vitamin K injection, erythromycin and their first dose of the hepatitis B vaccination.

• Vitamin K Shot: It is recommended that all newborns receive the vitamin K injection, as babies are born with very little vitamin K. It’s not easily passed through the placenta and there is very little in breast milk. Vitamin K is an essential nutrient for blood clotting and therefore reduces the baby’s risk of bleeding.
• Erythromycin: This is an antibiotic that is applied to the baby’s eyes in the form of an ointment and helps treat certain infections caused by bacteria, such as chlamydia and gonorrhea. These two infections can cause blindness in babies, so providers want to be proactive in protecting them from these infections.
• Hepatitis B Vaccine: The hepatitis B vaccine is given in three doses and protects children from contracting hepatitis B for at least 20 years. Hepatitis B, which can cause liver failure, can be spread from child to child if they come in contact with blood or other bodily fluids.

If you have questions or wish to abstain from any of the recommended medications, be sure to talk to your doctor. Ask them to provide you with the risks and benefits of each medication so you can make an informed decision.

Should you have a birth plan?

While it’s not required, having a birth plan can help you think through what you want and don’t want before, during and after labor.

“Just understand that labor and delivery can be highly unpredictable and sometimes unplannable,” Dr. Craig shares. “There may have to be modifications to your plan as we go through the labor and delivery process. Your care team will discuss the risks and benefits of making changes as they arise.”

More importantly, Dr. Craig recommends having an ongoing conversation with your provider about your birth preferences. “Most things are not decided in one day. Share your preferences and the things that you feel passionate about so that your provider can consider these things throughout your pregnancy journey.”

What To Bring to the Hospital for Birth

With endless long lists of what to bring to the hospital, Dr. Craig highlights a few items that she thinks are most important:

• A form of identification for yourself, birth partner/support person and any visitors.
• Insurance cards.
• Car seat.
• Anything that will make the stay special for you and your baby.

“The hospital will have everything you need for you and your baby, so don’t worry too much about bringing all the right things,” Dr. Craig shares.

What To Expect After Birth

After birth, mom and baby bonding is the priority. Keeping your baby in the room with you as much as possible is imperative. At many hospitals, lactation consultants are available to help you with feeding your baby. You may also consider a delayed bath to help with the hormonal adjustment that occurs for both mom and baby after birth.

“After birth, continue to work with your care team to monitor your symptoms. Always tell them about any new symptoms you are experiencing after delivery,” Dr. Craig shares.

You will typically stay in the labor and delivery unit for a couple of hours. Your labor and delivery team will monitor you and the baby and perform any necessary tests/checks. After a couple of hours, you may be transferred to a new room in the postpartum unit. Some hospitals will allow you to stay in the same room for labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum.

Labor is exhausting and can leave you feeling beat. After you’ve had time to bond with your baby, nurses are available to take the baby to the nursery and care for them there so you can get some much-needed rest.

Visitors are often welcome all day in many labor and delivery and postpartum units. Just be sure to ask your provider what the policy is at the hospital you are birthing at.

Leaving the Hospital

If you have a vaginal delivery, you usually leave the hospital the next day. If you have a cesarean section (C-section), you may stay at the hospital for a couple of days. Sometimes you may stay longer if your care team is monitoring other health care issues – blood pressures, blood sugars, etc.

Your provider will schedule a six-week postpartum visit to see how you are doing and healing after birth. If you had a C-section or other complications, they would likely want to see you sooner.

“If you notice any new symptoms before this visit, don’t hesitate to call your provider,” Dr. Craig emphasizes.

Madeleine Craig, MD
Dr. Craig is an OB-GYN with ProMedica Physicians Obstetrics | Gynecology. View her profile.