Ej and I are taking a Birthing Class with Miss Rome Kanapi. I will blog about it after we are done with all the 6 sessions. One of the things that she mentioned was to be sure to check out the delivery center and labor rooms of our chosen hospital. I am giving birth at Asian Hospital and Medical Center, so last week, EJ and I decided to visit their labor rooms and facilities.
Our appointment with our doctor was last Thursday, so we decided to call Asian Hospital to ask if we could tour their labor and delivery area. I was connected to the Genesis Center. Apparently, they call their labor and delivery area Genesis. How cool! The person on the other line just told me to come anytime so that they can show us the facilities.
We went there at around 10 am in the morning of Thursday (I was exactly 33 Weeks Pregnant). Genesis is located at the 3rd Floor of the building on the right (the left building of Asian Hospital are for the clinics of the doctors). When we got there, there was a nurse station and immediately told them that we would like to see the rooms and facilities of Genesis since I was 33 weeks pregnant and would like to deliver my baby at Asian Hospital. The nurses were very accommodating and one nurse wasn’t hesitant to give us a tour. She immediately jumped out of her seat! Again, very impressive. There was no looking at each other and waiting for one to answer our questions and show us around.
Okay, I decided to take you through the rooms as you might in an actual delivery. So during early labor, you might still be at home. When contractions get to become more frequent and you are already dilating at least 4cm, you may be brought to this area of Genesis (BTW, don’t forget to give your Birth plan to the nurse in charge). This is the Triage Room. While still in active labor, mommy-to-be can wait here. You will have to stay in this area until you have dilated until 8 cm.
Triage Room: While waiting for the baby
Only one person is allowed to accompany mommy in this room. There are curtains for privacy. The mom can walk around in this area if she wishes.
If you are already dilating at 8cm, you will be brought to one of the birthing rooms. The nurse showed us that there were four birthing rooms at the Genesis center of Asian Hospital. Sorry for the pictures, but I had to take it from the door. They disinfect the area so you really can’t go in. This is where you will wait to be fully dilated (10cm). This is also where you will have to deliver your baby in a normal pregnancy. For C-section delivery, they have a separate operating room (which I did not get to see anymore).
Birthing room at Asian Hospital Genesis Center
Birthing room: Pretty Spacious!
Birthing room at Asian Hospital
After you deliver, you will be transferred to your room for recovery and rooming-in (where your baby will stay with you). Although, Asian Hospital also has the Huggery section or their baby nursery. We got to visit this section, too. They have seats where you can lounge around and wait.
Huggery Viewing time
Huggery Viewing Time is at:
10:00am – 12:0nn
6:00pm – 8:00pm
There is a coffee vending machine also near the waiting area.
Genesis Waiting Area
You can call Huggery staff if you want to see your baby (during viewing time)
We also got to ask the nurses a lot of questions and they were all happy to answer them. We asked them if they place tags for the mom and baby after delivery. They said they have around 4-5 tags that they place. It’s a standard process that they follow to ensure security of the baby and to avoid baby switching.
We also asked them about “Unang Yakap”. They said that they really do that whether the baby was born normal or through a cesarean delivery. For those who do not know what Unang Yakap is, here is a video from the the Department of Health.
Also, I asked them if they give baby formula or sugar water. I was very pleased that they answered that they really promote breastfeeding and will do everything they can to help the mother breastfeed the baby. This is the type of encouragement that we expecting moms need!
Other things to note:
– We got the room rates for Asian Hospital. If you want a copy, just leave a comment below and I will gladly email it to you.
– Booking of the room is best done after your doctor has seen mommy-to-be. Your doctor can tell you if it’s time to book already. If you are advised to book a room already, just go down to the Upper ground floor and the admissions area is there (near the Philhealth office). Be sure to bring your Philhealth documents, too.
– We also got to talk to the Cost Counselor of Asian Hospital. I have attached copies of the expected cost quotation for Normal and for a Cesarean Delivery.
Asian Hospital Cost Counselor Cesarean Delivery
Asian Hospital Cost Counselor Normal Delivery
*Note that these costs are just “approximate costs” and do not include certain costs like the professional fees of your obstetrician, the anesthesiologist fee, the pediatrician fees, etc. (costs not covered are seen in the document).
For mommies-to-be, I suggest that you also go and check your own hospitals. Do create a blog post about it and I will gladly link to your post. For those planning to give birth at Asian Hospital (Phone number: +632-771-9000), do visit and share your thoughts, too! I’d love to hear from moms who have already given birth, too!
Mommy Ginger
PS. Hope you can join our workshops: https://manilaworkshops.com/events/all-about-breastfeeding-newborn-to-toddler-care-and-nutrition-3rd-run
at The Parenting Emporium (1st Street, New Manila QC).
PPS. For those who want to share with me their experience in the other hospitals, please feel free to email me your article so you can be a guest contributor. Hope you can make it as detailed as possible 🙂 Thanks! ginger@mommyginger.com
