About to have a baby in the UAE?
Picking the right hospital is one of the first difficult and overwhelming decisions to make once pregnant.
I’m here to break it down for you with these 9 factors you need to consider before picking a hospital for your maternity journey.
This one’s pretty much self explanatory.
For coverage, you need to check with your insurance provider (check the back of your insurance card for contact details).
Or if insured by your company, most employers in the UAE would provide a document, listing all the hospitals covered under your insurance. Call and/or email your provider to check details.
For example; there might be a cap on the number of consultation visits to the doctor, policy relating to a possible c-section, epidural coverage, newborn care, and neonatal intensive care coverage.
Needless to say, in case of non-coverage from insurer, check your own financial stance.
Do. your. research.
Browse hospitals’ websites, and go through different obstetricians/gynecologists’ portfolios.
Read their reviews on several platforms.
Maybe even pay a couple of them a visit if you can?
Don’t be afraid to change your doctor if you’re not comfortable.
You might not be getting all your questions answered, or the medicines or method of treatment might not be working for you, whatever the reason, you can always change.
Always better to pick a hospital closer to home. You don’t want to be stuck amidst Dubai - Sharjah traffic when your water’s broken.
Or driving up and down every month and every week in the last leg of your pregnancy (yes, the visits get quite frequent near the end)
Would you want a hospital with Neonatal care? If so, check if the one you’ve chosen is equipped with it.
This might just be imperative if you have a complicated pregnancy.
Discuss with your partner.
Simply put, you would be visiting the hospital quite often. You don’t want to be sitting outside the doctor’s office feeling uncomfortable and jittery every now and then. Ask yourself these questions:
Do you find the staff friendly? Is the waiting area warm and welcoming?
Most hospitals also offer a tour of their labor ward and their delivery rooms. See if you can get a peek. Do you see yourself writhing in pain in one of them? :)
Most hospitals in the UAE allow one person inside the delivery room or the OT in case of a c-section. Mostly, either your mother or your husband.
Double check if the hospital of your choice allows that.
At the risk of sounding like a selfish mama, you might want to consider leaving your child in the hospital nursery (with, may I add, trained nurses and staff) overnight to get in a good night’s sleep.
After going through hours and hours of labor (if you’re not one of the lucky ones) and pushing out a baby or going through a c-section is, needless to say, exhausting.
It might be a challenge for you and your partner to stay up and care for the baby the first night.
Don’t forget the drugs that might still be in your system.
And not to worry, as the nurses bring in the baby whenever it’s time to breastfeed. (if you choose to)
Breastfeeding, (if you decide to) can be rewarding yet quite a difficult journey, hence requires support from your partner/family and in my experience, from lactation nurses too. It would help you if your hospital has lactation consultants onboard who would visit you and offer assistance if needed after you’ve given birth. If it’s your first time, you will have questions.
These are offered now by most hospitals in the UAE. Inquire if your hospital offers them too, and be sure to attend.
Of course Google can and will answer all of your questions, but having certified doctors and nurses give you a few guidelines won’t hurt! Plus, these will help you understand your hospital’s birthing procedures, labor drugs offered/advised and after-birth care for mother and baby.
Well there you have it! Hope this makes it easier to kickstart your pregnancy journey and helps you make the right choice. ♥
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