As the owner of a busy doula agency in Chicago, I am very familiar with all area hospitals and I am always supporting our clients to navigate the hospital system. It is so important that families know what to expect so that they can be as prepared as possible for their birth. We want all families to have a positive birth and postpartum experience. Here are the top 10 things you can expect with a hospital birth in Chicago:

1. Your doctor or midwife may not be there the day of! This is so surprising to many families as they feel they hired a doctor, but they actually hired a practice of doctors and they work on a rotation.

2. There are very few hospital based policies when it comes to birth and actually many of them fall within your doctor or midwife practice decisions. This means you often have a lot of say on many things and if your doctor does not align with your ideas then you can absolutely look into another practice that does.

3. Nurses on rotation. Your nurses are typically on a 12 hour rotation and sometimes you have multiple nurses throughout your stay.

4. Nurses and doctors are not in the room with you very often. The nurses typically come in about every 30 minutes to an hour to check in and doctors we often only see a few times and then during the pushing phase, when it becomes closer to meeting your baby. 

5. Hospitals often have many birth and laboring tools such as showers, tubs, hot packs, ice packs, birth ball, peanut ball, birthing stools and more. Ask your hospital what tools you will have access to in labor.

6. You can push in many different positions. Most people think if they have a baby at the hospital then they can only push on their back, but actually in many hospitals you can sit more upright, you can be on your hands and knees, on your side and in other positions too.  

7. Inductions can sometimes be long. I mention this because many people think that inductions will make things move quickly, but often they can take quite a while and even a few days. Be prepared for both.

8. Your hospital stay after your baby arrives will usually be 24-48 hours. If it is a vaginal birth 24 hours is common. For cesarean births you are typically heading home in 48 hours.

9. Lots of interruptions. During labor and even postpartum you will have many people coming in and out of your room. This includes nurses, doctors, hospital administrative staff, lactation consultants, etc. It often feels busy day and night.

10. Ordering food may be limited. Most hospitals have set hours that their kitchen is open and outside of those times there are not too many food options. The hospital may have snacks available, but not full meals. This is why bringing snacks and food to the hospital may be a priority. EVERYONE is starving after they have a baby and the kitchen may be closed.

This blog is written by Anna Rodney, owner and founder of Chicago Family Doulas and Birth & Baby University. She has a Master’s degree in Education as well as multiple degrees in Special Education. She is certified as a labor doula, postpartum doula and childbirth educator through CAPPA. She is a CAPPA Certified Lactation Educator, a Certified Newborn Care Specialist, Happiest Baby on the Block and Lamaze instructor. She is a proud mama of three amazing daughters!