Having a baby, especially your first one, takes you on an exhilarating journey. But that’s not to say it won’t get stressful.
The weeks in your first trimester may crawl along at a snail’s pace, then before you know it, you will have reached your third trimester and realise that there’s so much preparation needed before your bundle of joy arrives.
To save you from unwanted stress and to make your delivery a smooth sailing one, it’s best that you pre-register your maternity arrangements with your chosen hospital. Here’s all you need to know about preparing for delivery.
Why You Should Pre-Register in Preparing for Delivery
When it comes to delivering a baby, you may plan all you want, but your baby may still spring a surprise and arrive earlier than expected. When that happens, the last thing you want is to be scrambling to find a hospital, or to not know exactly what to expect.
That’s exactly why you should pre-register your delivery. Get the paperwork done, prepare whatever you need to bring and what you must do on the big day with all the little details settled - what kind of delivery suite and ward you want, perhaps even what you want to eat during your hospital stay.
When you’re dealing with contractions at regular intervals, you probably won’t want to be making decisions!
Gleneagles Hospital Maternity Guide
If you’re trying to decide on where to deliver your baby, Gleneagles Hospital has a team of experienced specialists, healthcare professionals, services, and facilities to give you the support, knowledge, and peace-of-mind during this crucial time.
We’ll answer the questions you have running through your mind about what a hospital birth experience is like and how to prepare for it.
1. Pre-Registration
Often overlooked, this is an important part when preparing for delivery. Once you’ve decided on delivering your baby at Gleneagles Hospital, you can pre-register during any of your regular doctor’s visits.
This lets you skip out on the paperwork and registration and go straight to the delivery suite on the big day. This also means that hubby can stay with you without having to worry about anything!
Upon pre-registering, visit the hospital’s website for a checklist of what to pack in your hospital bag. Most of the necessities will be provided by the hospital so you don’t have too much to worry about.
Also, we all know how stressful it is to get a parking lot on a normal day, let alone when you’re in labour. Pre-registering also means that you can use the available valet service.
Parking will be free* for the duration of your hospital stay. To make it even more convenient, you can even request for a limousine* ride on your return home!
* Complimentary parking and limousine service is available for Single Room maternity package and above.
2. Delivery Suites
Mums, we know that as the day draws closer, you will naturally get anxious about what to expect during delivery.
The delivery suites at Gleneagles Hospital are equipped with facilities centred around your comfort and safety, with all your needs taken into consideration.
The plush, comfortable delivery suites are replete with all that you need during your delivery – CTG monitor, pain relief options, an adjustable bed, a baby warmer and most importantly, a trained team to look after you.
In the event of an emergency, there is a direct route to the operating theatre. Your hubby will be able to follow you in for support unless you need to go under general anaesthesia.
You and your baby will be well taken care of. Gleneagles Hospital, being accredited by the World Health Organisation as a Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) hospital, recognises that the time right after birth is extremely precious as it marks the beginning of your journey with your precious little one.
Your baby will be placed on your chest for skin-to-skin contact. If your baby displays feeding cues, the team will help initiate the first latch to get your beautiful breastfeeding journey started.
Mums, to further put your mind at ease, there will be a matching RFID tag around your baby’s ankle and your wrist. A melody will play whenever your baby is near you so that way you will never have a mum-baby mismatch!
As for the daddies, we haven’t forgotten them! We know how important their presence is, so the hospital has included a Daddy’s corner complete with refreshments to keep them fortified during your delivery!
3. Maternity Wards
Once you’re done delivering the baby, we can imagine how exhausted you’d be! Mums, we know you’ll be looking forward to a comfortable and pleasant recovery stay.
You will be treated to a lot of tender loving care from the team in the maternity ward that will be at your service.
You can choose from shared or single rooms and daddies stay for free if it’s a single room and above! You’ll be spoilt for choice with a wide range of delectable food of various cuisines, all prepared with love!
Daddies also get to enjoy 3 complimentary meals a day!
Whether you choose a shared or single room, Gleneagles Hospital encourages rooming-in with your baby. Being a baby-friendly hospital, breastfeeding is encouraged and supported here.
A lactation consultant will visit you to take you through the basics of latching your baby and how to go about achieving your breastfeeding goals.
Mums, we hope that you’ve found this guide to preparing for delivery useful and informative. We also hope that you will make the decision to pre-register your delivery to put your mind at ease. Remember, a happy and healthy mummy is most important for a happy and healthy baby!
Congratulations on your pregnancy and we wish you a smooth and pleasant delivery!
For more information on the Gleneagles Maternity Guide, you can visit their website or book for a Maternity Tour available every Thursday!
Here’s the recording of our recent webinar to help you kickstart your breastfeeding journey: