In America do you give birth in private or shared rooms?

Private.

Our 3 kids…

1 hospital (private room)
2 home births (our bedroom)

Did you have to pay for private though? Or is it given to you when you get to the hospital?
Meaning it’s not something you need to request in advance?

Private hospital room was just how it went down. Here in the US you pay for everything. No premium for the private room though.

EDIT: I may be completely wrong about this whole hospital scene based on the other comments.

There are three rooms: The labor room, where you do all the contractions and wait until the actual delivery; the delivery room, where you push the baby out; and the after birth room. The after birth room is the one that might be semi-private, and yes, you usually do have to pay extra for private. The hospital might also just be out of private rooms that day.

The actual birthing room is private but there is a chance in some hospitals that you may be moved to a shared room after the baby is born.

so… sorry just to clarify if the hospital is out of private rooms – you have to give birth in a shared room?

Not give birth, no, but share a room after the baby is born, yes.

I think usually the delivery room is private, well not really very private, there are people in and out, but you are not sharing it with anyone else who is giving birth.
You may or may not share a postpartum room with someone.
My four kids:
1. Private delivery room and shared a postpartum room.
2. Private birthing room, private postpartum room.
3. Operating room, private postpartum room.
4. Private birthing room, private postpartum room.

Now I believe that most hospitals have labor and delivery rooms combined into a Birthing room. At least that is how my hospital is.

Thanks that makes more sense – sounds like a home birth might be the go rather than the hospital, my obyn works with St Roosevelt but from reading about it it sounds like a nightmare!

According to many popular movies, about half of all live births in the USA occur in taxicabs or police cars…

But most of them seem to occur in private rooms in hospitals.

@tan235 , Most insurance doesn’t pay for home births in the US. My daughter had to pay the midwife $2000 and none of it was covered by her insurance.

Our home births were $2500 and $2800. Note: It may not be much cheaper to go the hospital route, depending on your insurance.

Yeah wow, I was hoping my insurance might cover a midwife but you’re probably right.
Did you guys have reliable insurance – re : something that was covered by most hospitals or was it medicaid – I’ve realized most doctors run from medicaid.

I have Blue Cross Blue Shield (and pay a ton for it from my employer). The US is a bit backwards when it comes to birth – but that’s for another topic.

@tan235 , My daughter’s insurance was through her husband’s employment. He works for the state of California.

wow and neither were covered for midwifery? Yeah I have to admit America and Health Care is a bit of paradox.

@tan235 , I think that it’s all about liability. We have a really high cesarean rate too.

I always thought it varied from hospital to hospital. When I had my first two kids, I was in the same private room for labor, delivery, and recovery. Not having to change rooms was one of the nice things about that particular hospital. They also encouraged moms to keep their babies in the room with them.

My other child was born in a different hospital. I was always in a private room, but after delivery the baby and I were moved to another room. A nurse explained they reserve those rooms for delivery because they are closest to the neonatal intensive care unit so babies who need emergency care can quickly be moved. Once the baby is born without complications, he or she goes with mom to a recover room in another area.

I’ve never heard of someone having to share a room during labor and delivery, at least not here in the US. There was a documentary I watched once about how women in other countries typically experience labor and delivery and in some cases there were big rooms where several women were in labor at the same time.

Both times I ended up having a private room but was supposed to be in a semi-private (another woman laboring next to me).

Both of my kids were born in a delivery room (though my youngest was almost born in my Subaru).
I don’t remember any other parents to be in there.

I had a private room during labor and delivery AND a private postpartum room both times. I had no idea that some people don’t get private rooms. It’s just the “norm” where I am.

@Aethelflaed What? I’ve never heard of a labor and delivery room being separate rooms. They’ve always been combined here. I’ve also never heard of having to pay extra for private rooms. I’m in Texas.

@WillWorkForChocolate Most hospitals used to have separate labor and delivery rooms. Often the labor room would be like a ward, where there might be several women in labor. When they were ready to deliver then they would be moved to the delivery room, then to a recovery room or maybe straight to a postpartum room. Back then mothers were often hospitalized for 5–7 days. Now I think 24 hours is normal isn’t it?

Medical Treatments in the U. S. depend on what you want to pay. Often the insurance company will refuse to pay for a private room, so you would share or pay out of your own pocket.

My son was covered by Kaiser for both his boys, and had a shared room once and a private room with a Daddy Cot in it for him to stay overnight.

Delivery room is private. Most hospitals now have a private room for labor, delivery, and recoup. Although you are home pretty quickly after the birth—maybe just a day or at most two in the hospital, in a normal birth. This is my experience both personal and with others I know.

I think it’s two days for a normal birth and four days for a c-section.

Not necessarily. I was discharged from the hospital about 8 hours after I delivered. Both times. The first time it was because the nurses kept waking me up and pissing me off, and I demanded to be discharged. But the second time, my midwife brought the discharge papers very quickly, without me asking.

I was actually appreciative, because after a 24 hour labor, you’re exhausted and cranky and just want to be left alone with your baby, but the hospital staff does stupid things like walking into your room at 5 AM, flipping on the light, and asking you if they can borrow the other chair in your room for another patient. I actually threatened bodily harm if they didn’t release me so I could go home and “get some rest without you idiots poking me every few minutes.”

Private, if your in the hospital.