A total of 219 pregnant women have participated this year in the Know Your Delivery Room program at the Doctor José Molina Orosa University Hospital, a center affiliated with the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands. This initiative, aimed at expectant mothers and their companions, has the main objective of familiarizing pregnant women with the hospital environment and the different stages of the childbirth process, thus promoting a calmer and safer birth experience.
Every Wednesday of the year, except for holidays, five pregnant women, between weeks 32 and 37 of gestation, along with their respective companions, arrive at Molina Orosa to participate in what they all now know as the "birth tour," a guided visit led by the midwife, to the different rooms they will go through on the day of delivery.
The midwife explains each of the steps they will take when the time of birth arrives: from entering through the Emergency Department, the examination and registration room, the dilation period, and the expulsion process in the delivery room. This tour also showcases the resources available to the expectant mother during labor, such as balls, birthing chairs, showers, etc.
During the visit, the aim is to resolve the doubts raised by expectant mothers, offering information about the childbirth process, what they should or can bring to the hospital that day, partner accompaniment, pain management, obstetric epidural analgesia, or why a cesarean section is performed. Likewise, issues related to the first few hours after giving birth and the care the mother and newborn will receive are addressed.
Close attention
All this information provides confidence and seeks to bring families closer to the environment and the professionals who will care for them. This activity, which is carried out in collaboration with midwives from Primary Care, aims to reduce anxiety and fear of childbirth and promote a more conscious and positive birth experience
Women participating in the initiative request it via a QR code on their pregnancy booklet, where they can also manage their birth plan, indicating the issues they consider important and want to be taken into account on the day of birth.
This program, devised by the midwives of Molina Orosa, is integrated into the hospital center's humanization strategy, with the aim of promoting care for pregnant women.
