Hi,
I am 23 weeks and just started to research hospitals recently as i want to know what i'm doing ASAP to put my mind at rest (I HATE medical treatment here in Dubai so many bad things happened to me personally and pretty much everyone I know)
I firstly started to research online exactly what I wanted in my birth. Do I want totally natural, Hypnobirthing, Epidural, C-Section etc. I think once you have an idea of this only then can you start to look into hospitals. for instance if a c-section is the last thing you want you don't want to visit a Dr or hospital that has a crazy high c-section rate. If you want hypnobirthing MOST hospitals in Dubai don't even know what this is let alone cater to it.
I would suggest you go to visit these hospitals that you have in your mind (and research people's experiences online) and see how you feel. Unfortunatly my OB-GYN doesn't do delivery but she automatically told me to deliver at City. I started to research City online and although it seems to be one of the best for delivery, every Doula, Prenatal Yoga instructor and online forum also seemed to highly recommend Al Zahra.
Al Zahra is right near my house (compared to the 30 - 45minute drive to City) so I decided to visit Al Zahra first. Once i'd visited Al Zahra in Barsha I didnt even feel the need to visit another hospital. They have British led midwife unit, birthing pol in every room (this is not only for birthing but also pain relief during early contractions) the rooms are big, well equipped, relaxing stars on the ceilings, Bluetooth music players and a lean friendly maternity atmosphere. Since visiting instead of freaking out about my Dubai birth i've actually had dreams of a relaxing birth. I have also not read one bad review of their birthing maternity unit whereas alot of people have said about City that they have to wait and it's very busy.
Just go and visit all your hospitals that are a possibility to you and see how you feel about it. Ask about the DR's input in the birth, what the pain relief or hypnobirthing options are and what their emergency c-section rate is.
