We just got back from a trip to Maryland and learned a lot about what technology GE has for childbirth (pre, during, post) and we will update on a few topics. Lets start with something that Noah and I, being sans children, had no idea about.
Hospitals trick the hell out of the rooms you give birth in. Sliding fake paintings conceal medical equipment, the ceiling opens up and there is a robot arm with a lamp on it, most of the gear that rolls around folds up into an armoire.
Also, I never really thought about it, but childbirth is the only time you “shop around” for a hospital. In fact it is the main thing that hospitals advertise, going so far as to install hardwood floors, etc. in their fancy suites. They do this because if they get you in and happy for Child No. 1 then you are coming back for No. 2 & 3, and probably to get hubby’s prostate checked out or whatever. Its the one time you are happily and willingly going to a hospital and are expressing an emotional preference, asking around with your friends.
This is inspiring, and relates to things we have already been discussing here:
a yelp for hospitals
life optimization
and ties into a bigger theme that we will tackle as we go – preventative medical technology. Basically we might have found the only time that someone makes a real conscious choice to pick a hospital based on personal research, and this might be an interesting time to change someone’s mind about the preventative healthcare habits they will have for themselves, but more importantly for that new kid that just had.
The bigger questions:
Is a hospital the best place to give birth?
Why are we making hospitals more like homes, instead of finding innovative ways to make birthing at home even safer than it already is?
Why is the C-section rate in America soaring, despite all the “advances in medical technology”?