This morning, I received an email stating that hospitals are now wooing mothers-to-be who are clamoring for a birthing suite, a family suite, and gourmet meals.  The email alluded to the idea that Beyonce's closing of an entire wing for the birth of little Blue Ivy may have started the craze.  What I soon came to realize is that what is now being considered luxurious has been in West Alabama for quite some time.

loading...

When I became pregnant with my now 2-year-old, everybody told me that I needed to have my baby at Northport DCH as the environment was more intimate, the baby would be delivered in my room, and she'd stay in my room inside a bassinette. However, the more I heard about the new suites at DCH Regional Medical Center, the more I became torn about where I wanted to deliver.

Fortunately, I didn't really have a chance to decide.  My daughter was delivered by emergency Caesarean at DCH Regional Medical Center.  I spent the night in ICU, and the next morning, I prepared to go into a regular hospital room and requested a suite because I have a HUGE, loving family that I knew would be visiting often until I came home.   That was the best decision I could have ever made!

DCH Regional Medical Center had recently renovated its maternity ward.  I was taken to a room with another room attached by an adjoining door.  My room contained my bed, bath, closets, a few side chairs, and a small dinette.  The other room had a convertible sofa, chairs, its own bathroom, sink, television, and separate entrance from the hall.  This allowed family members who'd like to stay for more than a few hours to be almost as comfortable as they would have been had they been lounging at home.

Now, I don't know about having gourmet meals delivered to the hospital, but the room service at DCH was spectacular.  For every meal, I chose what I wanted from the menu and called to place my order. I could have ordered for every meal well in advance, but I'm too fickle for that.

One of the greatest things I remember about being in the hospital is the outstanding personal care I received. All of my nurses and assistants were very personable and accommodating, but my favorites were the nurses that visited  at night. These were more seasoned nurses that probably would have been midwives in another time.  They told me many things that helped in my recovery and made the "sensitive" topics a bit more comfortable for me.

While luxurious deliveries may be the "it" thing nationally, it's nice to know that for what people are paying very high expenses to receive in other areas, we are blessed to have within reach every day.  And if faced with the choice of where I'd have another baby (God forbid anytime soon), I'd choose DCH Regional Medical Center with no question.

 

More From 92.9 WTUG