In choosing the birthing hospital for my first birth experience, my husband and I considered four important criteria: up-to-date facility, cleanliness, credibility of healthcare professionals, and reasonable cost of maternity package.

While it was very tempting to consider the usual popular and expensive hospitals, my husband and I believed that quality of service couldn’t be measured merely by a more expensive price or a more popular rating.  So we did our best to do extra research to find a hospital that could offer us the same quality service that popular hospitals give without spending too much.  Besides, when you’re having a baby, you could only foresee the waves of expenses coming your way.

Our four simple criteria for a birthing hospital were met by Commonwealth Hospital and Medical Center (CHMC).  Founded in 2009, CHMC is a young private hospital in Fairview, Quezon City.  As our OB Gyne Dr. Michelle Dela Cruz is affiliated with this modern hospital and because of the recommendation of a few friends who gave birth at CHMC, we decided to pay it a visit and check its maternity package.

CHMC boasts of modern and clean interiors.  The facilities and services are just like those of popular private hospitals. And since our trusted OB Gyne and my diabetologist (Yes, I had GDM) were affiliated with CHMC, we were confident that we’d be under the care of competent health professionals at CHMC.  The best part of it was when we found out that CHMC’s maternity package was more affordable compared to other hospitals we checked.

 

Fast forward to my actual labor and birth experience at CHMC…

OK, so we decided to give birth at CHMC.  You may read my extensive narration of my labor and birth experience here if you’re really interested. (Warning: It’s annoyingly lengthy as I wanted to preserve the memory of my very first labor and childbirth experience through writing.)

So what’s the advantage of choosing Commonwealth Hospital and Medical Center as birthing place over other more popular hospitals? Here are some of my thoughts:

• I got the same quality healthcare service without spending too much.

Because of my preeclampsia experience, my OB had to do an emergency CS operation on me.  My CS operation and four days stay in the hospital made us spend only around PHP80,000.  For only around that amount, my baby said hello to the world safe and sound.  That covered use of labor room, operating room, post operative care, room and board accommodation, admission kit, nursing service, post-delivery medicines and medical supplies, medicines and medical supplies for the newborn,  newborn screening, hearing test, and doctor’s fees.

• I got all the attention of the nurses and doctors in the labor room.

Call me weird but whenever I’m not feeling well, I am very demanding of care and attention.  So during my labor, I appreciated that we were only two preggies in the labor room so whenever I needed something from the assigned nurses or doctors, they were there in an instant.  Compared to having labor in huge hospitals where there would be a lot of preggies to compete with for the attention of the healthcare professionals.

• I didn’t have to wait long for the CS operation

Since we were only two preggies at the labor room at the time my OB Gyne announced that I needed an emergency CS operation, I was immediately sent to the operating room.  No competition. No waiting in line.

• I got free breastfeeding coach in the shape of the night shift nurse

I only have good words to say for the nurses of CHMC.  Compared to my other hospital experiences, my CHMC experience was very convenient for me because of their hardworking nurses.  Living up to their responsibilities as healthcare providers, they were really caring and accommodating.  Plus, one of the night shift nurses took pity on me and decided to volunteer to teach me the breastfeeding basics on my first night with our newborn.  I couldn’t imagine how I’d survive my first night without her. Just sad that I wasn’t able to ask for her name.

• Hubby and I got free bathing baby tutorial

The accommodating CHMC nurse taught us how to properly bathe a newborn.

 

• My hubby didn’t have a hard time dealing with admission processes, payment, release procedure and other stuff.

My hubby’s tolerance for taking care of “papers”  is generally limited.  So for him to say that he didn’t have a hard time processing documents for my admission, the payment, the Philhealth stuff and everything only meant that processes in CHMC were easy and convenient.  Or maybe it helped that I did my job of preparing all the documents needed prior my due date.

• Baby was roomed in.

Baby Tash spent her 1^st day on earth with Daddy and Mommy. 🙂

• Baby got no Generation Z “I’m a ______ Hospital baby” outfit.

Well, we got no Instagram photo of newborn Tash sporting such Gen Z branding, but who cares? 😊 All we needed was for her to be safe, healthy and alive.

 

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Commonwealth Hospital and Medical Center
Lots 3 & 4, Blk 3, Neopolitan Business Park,
Regalado Highway, Novaliches, Quezon City
930-0000 (Loc. 721)