Does the hospital permit mother and baby to stay in the same room?

Where You Want to Give Birth

Choosing Your Hospital

The vast majority of Canadian women choose to give birth in a hospital, although a home birth is also a good option for many women. Some hospitals have specialized birthing units where a more home-like environment is offered to women with low-risk pregnancies. You will likely want to choose a hospital and a care provider close to your home, which offer a range of services that appeal to you.

Here are some questions to ask when considering a hospital:

	Can I labour and give birth in the same room?
	Who is allowed to visit during labour?
	Are the labour rooms private?
	If I am labouring and giving birth in the same room, under what circumstances might I be moved to a delivery room?
	How many support people are allowed to be at the labour and birth?
	What if I have to have a cesarean section? Is my partner allowed to be there? What about other labour support people?
	Does the hospital allow doulas or expert labour support people to be there?
	What is the policy for allowing my other children to be present at the birth?
	Do the mother and baby stay in the same room after the birth?
	Does the same nurse take care of baby and mother?
	Can my partner stay with me in my room overnight after the birth?
	Who is allowed to visit after the baby is born and when?
	Do you have private or semi-private rooms?
	Are there lactation consultants and/or a breastfeeding clinic available?
	Are anesthesiologists available on a 24-hour basis to the birthing facilities, should I want an epidural?

Care Provider Privileges

One of the most important issues to consider when choosing a hospital is the care provider who will oversee your birth. Each hospital has a list of health-care providers that have 'privileges' at that hospital. Health-care providers must apply to have privileges at a specific hospital. The hospital will review their credentials and give them 'privileges' to admit and treat people. Caregivers are given privileges in accordance with their training and expertise. Many hospitals now give full privileges to midwives, although different hospitals will require different degrees of consultation with physician staff. If you already have a care provider, you should check to make sure that person has privileges at the hospital you chose.

Options for a Care Provider

A single care provider usually supervises the birth of the baby, although a team of people is usually involved in a woman's overall care. In some areas of the country, a woman has several options for primary care provider, including:

• a family doctor
• an obstetrician
• a midwife
• a maternal fetal medicine specialist

When a woman gives birth in a hospital with a physician as her primary caregiver, she will have a team of caregivers. The team will initially include her physician and a labour nurse, and may expand to include an anesthesiologist, pediatric staff and, if desired, her labour support person(s).

Midwives usually assemble their own teams from outside the hospital, although they will also consult with in-house staff as needed.

Each type of caregiver has different training and advantages. Click here to learn more.

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