Childbirth, where to give birth: public hospital or private clinic
The choice of the public hospital or private clinic to give birth must be closely linked to the type of delivery we want to have. Indeed, not all hospitals have the same resources, nor do they respect the birth plans of the pregnant woman or follow the strategy of normal delivery of the Ministry of Health.
If we are facing a risky pregnancy with impaired health of the mother or baby, the ideal is to go to a large hospital where they have all the resources, both human (enough staff) and technicians (a good neonatal ICU); But if what we have is a normal pregnancy and we want a natural delivery, what we need are not large appliances, operating theaters and surgeons, but pilates balls, mats, shower / birthing pool and, without a doubt, a good midwife who splurges patience and sensitivity.
From there, each woman will choose the place according to their wishes and all are completely respectable: there are women who want a natural hospital birth, other delivery with epidural (therefore medicalized) and other home births.
Childbirth in public hospital
Advantages of giving birth in a public hospital
- Public hospitals have better infrastructure and technology that private hospitals to attend to risk births and face the problems that may arise.
- They are more likely to respect your birth plan since they are subject to audits and have greater data transparency than in private hospitals.
- Being university hospitals it is easier for them to be constantly updated.
- If the delivery is normal, during all the time you will be accompanied and assisted by a midwife; You will only see the gynecologist in the event that the delivery is complicated and you should perform an instrumental delivery or a cesarean section.
- The number of caesarean sections is lower than in private hospitals.
Inconveniences of giving birth in a public hospital
- If the room is shared, you will have little privacy
- Esthetics are not so much taken care of as in private hospitals.
- There are often residents of midwife and gynecology In training.
The attention to each woman is usually made by a midwife, accompanied by a midwife / gynecology resident of the first year. Residents should always present themselves and ask the woman's permission to attend her during the birth and there should only be one.
Delivery in a private clinic
Advantages of the private clinic
- Rooms tend to be more comfortable, singles with full bath and companion bed.
- They tend to be less saturated with people, being smaller than hospitals.
- If you have it agreed, You may be treated by the same person who followed your pregnancy.
Disadvantages of the private clinic
- It is difficult to accept the birth plans, they put many obstacles and the medicalization of births very high.
- They do not usually have elements such as mats, childbirth chairs, nitrous oxide to have a natural birth and not usually accept births that are not in lithotomy (lying with legs up).
- The percentage of cesareans is higher than in public hospitals, but each one is different; It is advisable to ask the patient or your midwife / gynecologist for the rates of episiotomies, instrumental births, inductions and caesarean sections.
- They tend to have less human and technical resources; it is advisable to ask, in case of births at risk, if they have a neonatal ICU or they would transfer the baby to another hospital, if they have umbilical cord blood bank ...
- The dilatation is attended by the midwife on duty, but at the time of the expulsive usually comes to see the gynecologist.
Amanda Rodríguez Sánchez Matron.
