Richmond Hospital Birth Centre tours go digital

Soon-to-be parents looking to give birth at Richmond Hospital can now tour the Birth Centre from the comfort of their own home in either English, Cantonese or Mandarin—a first for Lower Mainland maternity hospitals.

With the support of the Richmond Hospital Foundation and the generosity of donors, VCH Richmond developed five comprehensive videos that offer parents more flexibility in terms of digesting the information they need to prepare for their child’s birth.

“Our Birth Centre is an extremely busy place, so birthing rooms may not always be available for parents to tour through,” said Lyn Jones, clinical resource nurse, Women and Children’s Program at Richmond Hospital . “Plus, the weekly in-person tours were taking precious time away from patient care.”

Comprehensive information

The videos total 21 minutes in length and can be found at: www.vch.ca/RHBirthCentre.

The video series outlines what parents can expect before, during and after their baby arrives at Richmond Hospital. This includes what to bring to the hospital, where to park, the layout of the Birth Centre and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where your support person can stay during the birth, the birthing process itself, and resources available to support mothers and their families preparing to return home with a new baby.

St. Paul’s and BC Women’s hospitals already offer online tours of their birthing centres, however, Richmond is the first to offer a virtual tour in multiple languages.

Increased knowledge through accessibility

It’s estimated that approximately 2,200 women will give birth at Richmond Hospital this year.

“Families can review the videos together as many times as they want and, most importantly, can take the tour in a language they’re most comfortable with,” said Wendy Panton, Women and Children’s Program at Richmond Hospital . “As a result, we’re hopeful that more parents will arrive at the hospital well informed about what to expect during the birth of their child.”