When I found out that I was expecting, I immediately thought about my to-do list and what tasks I needed to include here. As the weeks went on and I was getting closer to my due date, my to-do list got bigger (along with my belly!). It was overwhelming to continue to spend hours upon hours doing research to only come across more items I needed to add to my list that I did not know about before.

One of the most pressing items on my to-do list was selecting and registering for a hospital (das Krankenhaus) at about 36 weeks of pregnancy. I did not think the process would be too complicated as I would simply select the hospital that was the closest to my home. However, as a first-time expat mother giving birth abroad in Germany, I was not familiar with the hospital system here or what factors to consider when selecting one. As I did more research and talked to other expat families in Frankfurt, I realized the process of selecting a hospital for giving birth abroad in Germany required more than just a Google maps search.

January 2022 | Tired soon-to-be-parents going out for a walk when contractions just started!

After some thorough research and connecting with others about their own experience when choosing a hospital, I came up with this list to help future expat families navigate the process of selecting a hospital for labor:

• Attend an Info Session/Tour the Hospital: Most hospitals typically offer info sessions (Info Abend) about once a month. Depending on the hospital, during these sessions, they usually offer a tour of the facilities and give a presentation to discuss the procedure for registering at a hospital and how their staff supports you during labor. While the official hospital registration typically happens during week 36 of pregnancy, you can attend an info session before this to begin to get familiar with your hospital options.
• Distance from Home and Accessibility: This is a more obvious one. If you are like me, you might find comfort in knowing your hospital is only a few minutes away. We considered whether we will drive ourselves or Uber to the hospital and the distance to and from our home. For us, this was one of the most important things to consider when selecting our hospital choice. However, while an obvious aspect to consider, this was not the determining factor for us when selecting our hospital for childbirth in Germany. For me, it was even more important for us to choose a place that felt calm, relaxing, supportive and welcoming!
• Family Room Availability: Hospitals offer a family room for a fee (fees vary per hospital and usually range anywhere from 80-150 euros per night). These fill out quickly so best to request them upon registration. However, based on personal experience, keep in mind that simply because you request one does not mean they will have one available for you. In our case, the day my daughter was born the hospital had double the births which meant family rooms were extremely limited and we were not able to get one though we requested it weeks in advance.
• Hospitals with a Children’s Clinic: Not every hospital includes a children’s clinic. While all hospitals are capable of dealing with most emergency situations including C-sections, not every hospital has a children’s clinic to manage medical emergencies for babies. However, hospitals that do not include this share that in the event that there is a medical emergency and baby needs extra medical attention, children are then transferred to a nearby facility where they can be taken care of. Personally for me, while my hospital did not include this clinic, I felt supported and taken care of and knew I was amongst a team of professional doctors who I trusted.

Selecting which hospital you want to give birth in is a personal decision. It is important to sit down with your partner (or on your own if you are a single parent) and consider what is most important for you and your family. For me, it was helpful to consider these points above and talk to other families about their own birth experience at the hospitals I was considering. At the end of the day, my husband and I made a decision based on our “gut feeling” and which hospital felt right for us. After having a positive birth experience at the St. Elisabethen-Krankenhaus Frankfurt, this confirmed for me that sometimes all it takes is simply following your gut feeling about the place you choose!