Light and long-awaited: what you need to know about childbirth in Moscow

How to start planning a pregnancy?

First, take care of attachment to antenatal clinics: Choose a doctor who will manage your entire pregnancy. The doctor will regularly carry out the necessary supervision, examinations, treatment-and-prophylactic and preventive measures that will ensure the bearing of pregnancy and the birth of a healthy baby. The frequency of appointments depends on individual indications, but experts advise to visit the obstetrician-gynecologist at least seven times during the entire pregnancy. The doctor will conduct surveys, inquire about complaints and prescribe laboratory and instrumental studies, as well as give recommendations on lifestyle and nutrition.  

It’s not only never too late to learn, but sometimes it’s nice: learn all about newborns in a special school for moms and dads… Here they will tell not only about important certificates and documents, but also hold master classes on childcare. Our parents never dreamed of this! School projects have been introduced and already exist on the basis of all obstetric Moscow hospitals, such as, for example, the GKB im. Yudin, GKB No. 40, GKB No. 24 and GKB im. Vinogradov. Knowledge and practical skills will help parents-to-be to be ready for anything and find answers to the many questions that arise while waiting for a child. After all, pregnancy is a very serious and at the same time exciting event in the family.

Free IVF is not a myth. Since 2016, the provision of medical care in the treatment of infertility using IVF technology has been carried out on the basis of the basic compulsory health insurance program. Moreover, it is available in 46 metropolitan medical organizations… Feel free to ask your local doctor for a referral. The procedure can be completed absolutely free of charge in any chosen clinic, and the medical commission will check not only the health of the woman, but also her partner. It should be a shame to those who talk about the “ticking clock”, but not to you. The whole process will be safe and painless!

What are the benefits for pregnant and lactating mothers?

Awareness is your best friend, so feel free to ask questions. Everybody loves pregnant women, and they are entitled to a lot of benefits. So, for example, if there is a permanent registration in the capital, pregnant and lactating mothers have the right to receive free meals until the baby is 6 months old, provided that he is breastfed. For registration, arm yourself with a passport, a compulsory medical insurance policy (and their copies) and write a statement addressed to the head of a medical organization that has a milk distribution point. At the antenatal clinic or children’s clinic, you will be given a prescription for free food and the nearest address of the milk dispensing point.

Pregnant women are entitled to certain payments:

How to choose a maternity hospital and what to take with you?

The choice of a maternity hospital is one of the decisive factors affecting how the birth will go. Most parents are guided by a specific doctor, but in fact, all the well-coordinated work of the institution plays a role. In Moscow already several maternity hospitals have the international status of “child-friendly hospital”: this means that the institution has passed the examination and certification of independent experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

There are 19 obstetric hospitals in the Moscow health care system, of which five have the status of perinatal centers. In addition to experienced workers, medical organizations also have their own specialization, for example, work with specific diseases of mothers and babies and certain complications.

Is it possible with your husband? Partner births are available in almost every maternity hospital in Moscow. It is free, and childbirth with a loved one is even more positively perceived by doctors: they make the process of having a baby a deep joint experience for both parents, contribute to greater peace of mind and a successful outcome. Sometimes Moscow women in labor take a mother or sister as a partner.

Another trendy option is water birth… However, this is only possible in a maternity hospital, where all the necessary equipment and trained personnel are available. It is important to familiarize yourself with all the possible pros and cons, the conditions for such childbirth, and also sign an informed voluntary consent.

Sometimes it happens that a child was born prematurely and needs special care. In the Perinatal Center of the City Clinical Hospital No. 24, a unique service for Russia has been launched in pilot mode: parents can see a newborn 24 hours a day using cameras on the bed. It is also important to know that from February 18, 2020, all babies born in Moscow and who received a birth certificate in a maternity hospital, whose parents do not have a Moscow registration, will receive an extended neonatal screening for 11 congenital and hereditary genetic diseases free of charge. Detection of pathology at an early stage will provide timely medical care and protection from serious consequences.

What to take with you to the hospital:

You can bring your mobile phone and charger into the birthing unit.

We also advise you to take elastic stockings with you in order to prevent thromboembolic complications (stockings are required for a cesarean section). In addition, you will need a small package of diapers, a bodysuit or undershirt, a hat and socks for the baby. For a luxurious statement and a souvenir photo, relatives will be able to donate things later.

Parents (adoptive parents or guardians), upon discharge from the Moscow maternity hospital, will receive a choice of a gift set for the baby or a cash payment (20 rubles). The condition is as follows: the child’s birth certificate was issued in a maternity hospital or one of the spouses is a Muscovite. The gift set includes 000 universal items that the baby will need in his first months of life.

Retrospective: how did you give birth in the capital before?

On July 23, the centers of public services and the Glavarkhiv have updated the exposition of the exhibition project “Moscow – Caring for History”. At the exhibition you can learn how the image of the family has changed from the time of the Russian Empire to the present day. The exhibition has collected many interesting facts: for example, until the 1897th century, male doctors were forbidden to engage in obstetrics, and midwives took delivery at home. Did you know that the first state maternity hospital was created in XNUMX? To give birth there was a sign of poverty and an ignoble origin, no matter how strange it may sound now.

The exposition “My family is my story. Creating a Family ”will acquaint with the unique historical facts of the formation of the institution of the family. The Russian Empire, the USSR, modern Russia – three different eras, is there anything in common? You will find the answer at the exhibition stands in 21 metropolitan center of public services… At the exhibition, you can learn touching stories of Muscovites, facts about the fate of ordinary people and have fun, for example, at quizzes and an interactive children’s game “Dress up the bride and groom.”

The exhibition will destroy your stereotypes and will greatly surprise you. Do you still think that “bringing in a hem” is giving birth to an illegitimate child? 100 years ago, married peasant women often brought babies in skirts, because women worked until the very birth, which could begin anywhere. They did not prepare for childbirth, they did not take clothes and a blanket with them, the child was wrapped in a scarf or simply carried home in the hem of a dress or in an apron.

You can also find great ideas at the exhibition: for example, choose a name for an unborn child if you like historical names. And, which is nice, the exhibition is available not only offline, but also online on the platform “I’m at home”… Come to visit, and may your childbirth be easy and long-awaited!