FAQs

You want to know more? Here are some frequently asked questions about giving birth?

Q1. Where can I have my baby at HMC?

A1. You can give birth at any HMC’s maternity hospitals, but it is best to choose the one near to your home for more convenience and easy access.

If your pregnancy is considered normal, you will likely have received your antenatal care in the maternity unit at one of our four maternity hospitals closest to your home. This is the hospital which you will be visiting if you think you are in labor.

If you have been categorized with having a pregnancy which is more complicated or high risk you will be delivering at the Women’s Wellness and Research Center.

Q2. When should I come to the hospital?

A1. You should go to your designated hospital if you are experiencing one of the following:

• You feel your water break
• You start bleeding
• You no longer feel baby move
• You are feeling abdominal pain
• You have a fall or sustain trauma to the abdomen
• You have vomiting and diarrhea
• You have itchy hands and feet
• You have a headache or visual disturbances
• You experience frequency in passing urine
• You are generally feeling unwell

Q3. How do I know I’m in labor?

A3. You are in labor if:

• You are experiencing regular abdominal pains every 2 to 3 minutes in 10-minute duration. It may be helpful to have your husband/mother/sister time how often these are occurring within a 10-minute span.
•  You feel a gush of fluid or a trickle of liquid coming out of your vagina. This is referred to as a “Spontaneous Rupture of Membrane”.
• You’ve seen mucus dislodging from your vagina or blood.
• You feel pressure on your bladder, or you are urinating frequently.
•  You are experiencing diarrhea/nausea/vomiting.

If you are experiencing all of the above, then you may be in labor. Please ask a friend or family member to drop you off at the emergency entrance of the WWRC (or the hospital you have been booked into for delivery), where our care team will further assess you.

If your labor has not yet sufficiently progressed and you are not ready to deliver in the near future, you will either be kept for observation or sent home with instructions.

Q4. How do I know which birthing option is best for me?

A4. If you are in labor, our team from the Emergency Department will transfer you to the Labor and Delivery unit or the operating theater. Based on their assessment of both your health and that of your baby, our team of doctors, midwives and nurses will recommend a vaginal or a C-section led delivery.

Q5. What should I bring with me to the hospital when coming to deliver?

A5. You should bring a prepacked bag containing the following items:

For you:

• Something comfortable to wear during labor
• Good support bras
• Breast pads
• Maternity panties
• Maternity pads
• Night dress/pajamas
• A pair of slippers
• Toiletries/Vaseline/lip balm
• Face cloth and large towel
• Hair band
• Outfit to wear when going home

For baby:

• Diapers/nappies (I pack)
• Baby wipes
• Hat/bonnet (2 pieces)
• Vests/singlet (3 to 4 pieces)
• Scratch mittens and socks
• Baby suit (3 pieces)
• Baby blanket (3 pieces)
• Baby shawl (2 pieces)

Q6. Why can’t I just walk-in to any HMC’s maternity hospital and be seen by a doctor?

A6. HMC’s maternity hospitals provide secondary and tertiary level care to women whose needs are too complex to be treated at a primary care center. This is why most services can only be accessed through referrals from primary care center, other HMC facilities or the private sector.

Q7. What do I need to know about breastfeeding my baby?

A7. Mother’s milk has been proven to be the best food for all babies because it contains all the nutrients that baby needs for normal growth and brain development. Breastmilk is also being described as baby’s first immunization against acute infections, common childhood illnesses, and chronic diseases like diabetes, heart diseases, overweight and obesity.

Follow these tips to successfully breastfeed:

• Be self-confident and comfortable both physically and mentally.
• Maintain eye contact, touch, talk or cuddle the baby.
• Initiate early breastfeeding and practice regular skin-to-skin contact at least 6 to 8 times a day.
• Put baby to breast whenever he/she shows signs of hunger or to feed the baby often between 8 to 12 times a day because baby’s stomach is small.

Q8: I am a working mum, how can I safely express my milk to feed my baby while I am away work?

A8: If you’re a working mom that will be returning to work but still wants to continue breastfeeding, you should start practicing how to express breast milk after birth at least within 2 to 6 hours. You can express breastmilk by hand or by using a breast pump.

Take note of the following tips:

• It is advisable to express breastmilk by the baby’s bedside.
• Pump the breast often and intervals should not exceed more than 4 hours and the length of each expression should be within 10 to 15 minutes.
• Ensure to empty the breast completely to maintain milk production.
• You may need a portable cooler/ice box with ice packs to carry expressed breastmilk if the baby is separated from you.

Q9: How do I feed refrigerated or frozen breastmilk to my baby?

A9: Once expressed and if you do not need it straight away, the breastmilk should be stored correctly to prevent it from spoiling. Store in a sterile container to be sealed with a lid and not with a bottle teat as the hole in the teat can allow bacteria into the container. In order to use the oldest milk first (first in first out), the container should be numbered and labeled before refrigerating or freezing the milk.

Take note of the following tips to warm and thaw expressed breastmilk:

Freshly expressed breastmilk: if the expressed breastmilk is kept under room temperature, it can be given directly without warming.

Refrigerated breastmilk: if the breastmilk is cold, place the bottle in a bowl of warm water or hold the bottle under cold running water then slowly run warm water until it thaws.

Frozen breastmilk:

• Put the bottle or bag in the refrigerator overnight, hold it under warm running water, or set it in a container of warm water.
• Once fully thawed, it may be kept at room temperature for a maximum of two hours or in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
• Don’t thaw or heat frozen breast milk in gas stove, microwave or in boiling water.
• Thawed breast milk left at room temperature should be fed to your baby within two hours.
• Never re-freeze breast milk once thawed.