London:
Prince William's wife Catherine was admitted on Monday to a private wing of St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, central London, to give birth to her first child.
Here are some details about the hospital:
- She will be treated in the Lindo Wing, where Diana, princess of Wales gave birth to Prince William on June 21, 1982, 16 hours after being admitted. William's younger brother Prince Harry was also born at St Mary's.
- The private wing reopened last year following an extensive refurbishment, and caters for both straightforward and complex deliveries as well as multiple births.
- A standard room and normal delivery -- which the duchess of Cambridge is hoping for -- costs 4,965 pounds($7,775, 5,800 euros) for the first 24 hours, although she can pay an extra 1,050 pounds for the deluxe package.
- The cost rises to 5,500 pounds for an instrumental delivery and 6,420 pounds for a caesarean.
- If Catherine needs specialist care, she could be transferred to critical care and neonatal units in the state-funded National Health Service (NHS) section of the hospital.
- She will be attended by Doctor Alan Farthing, the queen's gynaecologist and a senior lecturer at Imperial College London, and his predecessor Marcus Setchell. Farthing's fiancee, popular BBC television presenter Jill Dando, was murdered on the doorstep of her London home in 1999.
- Each room is equipped with a satellite television, a radio, a safe, a bedside phone and a fridge. There is also Internet access and a daily newspaper delivered each morning.
- In-house chefs offer an extensive menu and tea and coffee throughout the day, while there is also a comprehensive wine and champagne list.
- Each room is equipped with a fully reclining chair, on which William can catch forty winks if the labour goes on for some time.
- After the birth, Catherine will be offered advice on feeding, changing and bathing the baby from fully qualified and experienced nursery nurses and midwives based at the hospital's nursery.
- The baby will be checked over by a paediatrician before the parents can take their newborn home.