My wife recently gave birth to our second baby. Because I was not a basket case about the imminent arrival of this child, as I was with baby number 1, I had the clarity of mind to take it all in. So, instead of going into the experience as a new dad, to the chagrin of my wife, I went into it as an observer. My biggest takeaway was how the delivery room changed modes over the course of the delivery and how this can minimize levels of anxiety.

When you enter the delivery room for the first time, it almost feels like a hotel room. As the the delivery begins, doors and slots start to open to reveal the apparatus of delivery. One cabinet slides open to offer all of the anesthesiologist tools, the other opens up to show a heart rate monitor. A seemingly ambiguous cart opens up to reveal the tools of the obstetrician trade, and then the bed transforms and lights drop from recessed panels on the ceiling. The transformation is impressive, and if we had walked into the room in this mode, I don’t think my wife could have gone through with it.

Overall, the design of the room was a great way to use modal transformation as an anxiety reducing tool.