Das Krankenhaus - The hospital

As promised, although a few days later than I wanted, I wanted to share our experiences with the German hospital tours. These days, we have two hospitals to choose from, one is 10 minutes away, the other is about a half hour. Unfortunately, the better of the two is the farthest away. I’m pretty sure we’ll be safe and not have to deliver the baby en route.

First, we made an appointment with the military insurance liaison. She’s German and calls the hospital the day of the appointment to make sure they’re not full and so we can at least look at a couple of rooms in the birthing centers. There were about 7 of us on the first tour. She met us in the lobby and then takes on the route we would go if we were having the baby, from check in to check out; where to go, who to contact, etc. We have to call the MP’s en route to the hospital so they can contact the liaison on call so they are aware we are there in case there are any problems. Things can come up because of the language barrier, although there are plenty of people who speak English.

Upon entry of the hospital is a lobby as well as a restaurant. She showed us the birthing ward, which has 2 labor rooms, 2 private rooms and 4 other wards. I didn’t feel real comfortable there, I felt like there wasn’t enough privacy. The halls are narrow and if the hospital was busy, there was a good chance I could share a room with 3 other people. Not for m, considering there are no curtains in between the beds. I’m not exceptionally modest, but I really don’t want Uncle Dieter watching me breastfeed or have to deal with 3 other people’s visitors. It’s scary and traumatic enough without feeling even more uncomfortable. Plus, we’d all share the bathroom in the room. For privacy, there is a shower room, a feeding room and a room for meals, buffet style. I’m sorry, but I will be going through the most dramatic thing I will ever experience in my life and I’ll be damned if I’m going to get up between the hours of 7:30 and 9:00 and get my own breakfast! Call me pampered, but that’s just crazy. So, that right there turned me off.

Another issue is that there is a time delay with this particular hospital with getting the baby’s German birth certificate. Something about a new computer system or database causing a delay and it would take a few weeks. Needless to say, I left with a bad taste in my mouth. I’ve heard good things from people who’ve had babies there, but I just didn’t feel comfortable. The one good thing about that hospital is that it’s the neonatal hospital in the area. If a problem is discovered with a baby delivered at another hospital, it’s sent there. I’m being optimistic and hope that doesn’t happen. I just don’t want to take the risk of not being able to have my own private room, so we chose another hospital. Maybe I wouldn’t be so picky if I was younger, but I’m not. I figure being pregnant at my age, I’m entitled to be a bit choosier. I don’t think I’m really being unreasonable.

The second hospital tour was much more reassuring. Of course there was a restaurant (which my husband commented that he would be hanging around in- Sure, OK, ha-ha). The hospital is much newer, more modern and bigger. The birthing ward was like a wellness spa. Thank God my husband was able to go on these tours so he can remember where we have to go because I have mentioned before that I have no sense of direction and will be busy dealing with contractions and therefore would definitely get lost.
Anyway, the actual labor rooms were huge and both had hot tubs in them as well as a patio that I could escape to during the early stages of labor. There were more private rooms in this hospital and the worst case scenario would be sharing a room with one other person. I guess I could live with that in this place. They provide towels and a robe and each room had a shower, not a locker room type shower room like the other hospital. There’s a nice lounge with leather couches and a large screen TV for the families to hang out in. I could even reserve a suite if I wanted to, but I decided not to because then I’d be expected to cook (Just kidding). There was a beautiful feeding room if a person wants to get out their room, complete with soothing twinkling lights in the ceiling, soothing wood tones and warm colors, as well as soft music. I was really impressed and felt much better about the whole thing. The only bummer is that I guess I can’t get away from having to get my own food. I guess they want you up and moving around ASAP. I guess we Americans are spoiled in that way, more pampered.

If you have a natural childbirth in Germany, you normally stay in the hospital for 3 days, 5 days for a C section. I think they kick you out sooner than that in the States. Our insurance will pay for a semi-private room. If I want a private room, we have to kick in more out of our pocket. Not that much more. It’s totally worth it to me.

The liaison makes an appointment for you with the hospital that you choose so you can discuss any concerns or questions prior to the birth, which is a good thing, so there aren’t any misunderstandings when the time comes. My Dr. will also call the hospital on my last visit with him in two weeks and let them know when I plan on coming (given that I don’t go into labor before then). They will induce me because I am a bit higher risk given my age and potentially having gestational diabetes. Don’t want the baby too big!