Complex but so happy process of giving new life cannot be measured in money, but its comfort and safety are quite amenable to exact calculation. Predelivery arrangement between the pregnant woman and the obstetrician including the informal payment remains the most widely used practice in Ukraine, although increasingly families expecting a child count the costs and choose to give birth in a private hospital.
Everyone has different ideas about comfort level in a health care facility. Someone considers a standard twin room to be quite acceptable, while others cannot relax in the hospital environment and want to feel almost like at home. Public maternity hospitals cannot provide "home-like" environment, although for many years they charge an additional fee for a single-occupancy room.
Private Maternity Hospital Is a Reasonable Alternative
More and more women in Ukraine choose giving birth in the private maternity hospitals. There are several reasons, and they are not only due to the fact that informal payment for predelivery arrangement between the pregnant woman and the obstetrician in the public hospitals including staying in a nice single-occupancy room and delivery costs in the private hospital are almost equal. According to data given by users of various forums, public hospital “costs” are at least USD 1,000, but in this case it is hard to imagine a set of services provided. The private maternity hospitals fully describe the programs of childbirth services and the cost any program. This information can be provided on the website or given by the hospital administrator. There are some other aspects that push many families to choose a private hospital.
Excellent living conditions. If the hospital was built recently, a woman has no risk to meet such "anachronisms" as one toilet room on the floor, not working shower, leaking windows, no heating, and so on. Private maternity hospitals provide improved living conditions.
Contract relationships. In the private maternity hospitals services are paid at the cashier's office after signing the contract. It will guarantee quality of health care for a woman. This contract should contain a list of services included in the health care package paid. Usually, this contract stipulates any birthing process, any assisted delivery methods and emergency childbirth techniques, including caesarean section, intensive care for mother and newborn.
Predictability pay. Private maternity hospitals offer care services programs with a clearly-defined cost of each program. You can also select additional services and add them to the list in the contract.
Postpartum assistance. In the private hospitals contract provides skilled nursing postpartum care, lactation consultant, psychologist, massage therapist. You can be sure that they do their work right and they do it on time.
No need to buy medicines and collect a birth kit. You should not bring everything to your private hospital. All medication costs are included in the cost of your hospital stay, paid officially. All relevant neonatal and pediatric care sevices are also included.
Delivery with a partner. A partner`s presence is the right of parents, and it does not change your hospital stay cost. By the way, private maternity hospitals require to follow a minimum number of bureaucratic procedures for a partner, unlike public ones, which often require not only an additional fee, but also a lot of documents.
Home-like environment. The private hospitals do all their best to provide a “home-like” environment for a woman. Medical instruments, hospital smell, and clammy atmosphere can negatively affect pregnant women. Private maternity hospitals offer the most comfortable living environment; a woman can give birth in any birthing position convenient for her, and after birth, depending on the selected room, a father can stay overnight with his wife and his baby.
Healthy food. A woman stays in the hospital for a short period, but during these days, eating healthy food is important. Private hospitals have a very careful approach to the issue. A woman can be sure that her relatives do not have to bring food from home.
Cost of all these pleasures is slightly higher than the amounts and often is not different from those, which you should pay for preliminary arrangement with a trusted physician and stay in a nice room in the public maternity hospitals. Each family makes its own choice, but before the final decision it is worth weighing all the arguments.
