June 04, 2010 02:23am EST 

If you’re expecting a baby but have never been a patient in a hospital before, and as a result have no idea which hospital to go to, rest assured. You are not alone. The simple idea of even going to a hospital as a patient, and depending on your carriage, may be in for a prolonged stay, can be daunting. Fortunately, responding to these worries, many hospitals try to make your stay as “painless” as possible by offering the comforts and amenities of home.
Picking a Hospital
If you have insurance, hopefully you do, then your choice of hospitals may be limited to hospitals on a specific list preferred providers. Fortunately, you still have a choice. So even if you only have two hospitals on your list, you should visit them in advance to see what each has to offer. If you fall in love with the hospital your doctor doesn’t deliver in, don’t be afraid to switch doctors in order to go the hospital of your choice. The difference between hospitals may be subtle, but you should still be an informed consumer, so make sure you make the decision based on your visits and what matters to you. In addition to the above, make sure you pick a hospital you can afford.
What Makes Hospitals Different
There are many good hospitals in the United States, but it’s still important that you go to the right one for you. Think about this, a recent study compared survival rates of patients in the best hospitals compared with the country’s average hospital. It found that you had a 50% better chance of surviving a serious operation in the best hospitals. That is not a small difference.
However, since many of us neither live close to the best hospitals, nor afford them, here are some criteria you should consider when picking a hospital. Consider that some of these criteria are based on the specific wants of a woman in labor and not tips for finding hospitals in general.
- Free parking.
- Easy access for services and visiting.
- Conveniently located (Perhaps the most important)
- 24 hour room service meals at your request.
- Complimentary massages
- New baby portrait or photography
- Private rooms for obstretical patients