Hospital SJD Sant Boi adapts birth-circuit visits to seven languages

18% of the births that take place at Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Sant Boi are from mothers of Moroccan, Pakistani, Indian, or Chinese origin.

They are women who very often do not speak or understand Catalan or Spanish. For this reason, the maternal and child area of Hospital SJD Sant Boi has decided to adapt the guided visits for expectant mothers to seven different languages. In this way, it is possible to guarantee these women’s right to information and to learn firsthand what their birth will be like if they have a child at the Hospital.

“We realized that the entire Mothers and Fathers School project was falling short due to the language difficulties faced by the women. We observed that they did not request information or ask any questions. And we believe that it is essential to have knowledge and be able to ask whatever you want in order to have a full experience of pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum,” explains Clara Garcia, coordinator of the maternal and child process and head of Nursing Management.

The audio guides have become a reality thanks to the collaboration between the maternal and child area of Hospital SJD Sant Boi and the Innovation Department of Parc Sanitari SJD.

First audio resource for mothers

Hospital SJD Sant Boi is currently the only Catalan healthcare centre that offers the option of following, through an app and audio in different languages, the sessions that are normally held in Catalan public hospitals. These sessions, called the Mothers and Fathers School, are organized twice a week at the hospital and serve as a space for information and interaction with future families, where mothers and fathers get to know firsthand the place where they will have their baby. In these sessions, the midwives present the pregnancy care model and their own childbirth assistance model, offer a virtual visit to the Obstetric Block, and conduct a guided visit to the Emergency areas, Outpatient Consultations, and the Maternity ward, which can be followed in full in any of the languages available in the app.

Hospital SJD Sant Boi attends to more than 1,100 deliveries annually. It has 1,600 m² dedicated to women and infants, four labour and delivery rooms, one observation bay, two emergency bays, an exclusively obstetric operating theatre, and a post-surgical recovery room.

Postpartum follow-up

Once they give birth, during postpartum follow-up, mothers can attend the breastfeeding workshop, which is held four times a week at the hospital and aims to build a sense of community among mothers and resolve any doubts that may arise.,

With the same goal, the lactation advisory service or other specific workshops such as pediatric dentistry, first aid with the baby, and infant massage can also be used.

The maternal and child area of Hospital SJD Sant Boi has been distinguished up to eight times with the TOP 20 awards, national honours that recognize centres for their good results and the care and commitment of their professionals. It has also been recognized in the Best Spanish Hospitals Awards (BSH).