Type of hospital

jayhawkmom4

I have a choice of hospitals to deliver at. One is the busiest labor and delivery in the area. They are a well oiled machine but are very busy. You labor and deliver in one room and then after 2 hours are moved to the mother baby area that has much smaller rooms. 

The other hospital is much smaller but is also far less busy. You labor, deliver, and recover all in the same room the whole time. It feels like because they are slower they have more flexibility. 

Both hospitals have earned awards for being baby friendly so they are both offer quality care. 

What is your hospital like? Pros and cons of each? 

lilpotatomama

Mine is like the first, and I don’t have a choice. I have to admit that when I first saw the rooms, I was super bothered by their small size. Then I reminded myself that I’m (hopefully) not going to be there for more than 3 days. It isn’t permanent. For me, the size will also be helpful in limiting visitors and keeping me from getting overwhelmed. 
The biggest pro is that they have a level IV nicu if it is needed, and no matter what I’ll have a midwife there to deliver my baby. 

mrstmoose

@jayhawkmom4 I'm delivering at the busy hospital in our area. It's where my doctor has privileges at and I'm not changing doctors. I delivered DD there and had an absolutely wonderful experience. 

MRDCle

I would consider the level of NICU in each first and foremost. Secondly, being moved to the postpartum floor IMO isn't bad. The L&D floor last time was noisier and busier, and the postpartum floor was quieter and more relaxed. I wasn't moved to postpartum till 24 hours post having my son due to being on mag for pre-e, but I would have LOVED to get down there sooner. 

snowhite12

My hospital is similar to your small hospital; labor, deliver and recover all in the same room. I enjoyed it with both of my previous pregnancies. My hospital actually calls it "Family Birthing Place".
Pros: felt less like I was staying in a hospital (more hotel feel). Less risk of losing your belongings as you stay in one room, more private, nurses were very attentive and someone was always around if I needed help. Lastly, the Family Birthing Place has its own entrance/parking lot and nice/large waiting room for guests.
Cons: very small NICU with limited capabilities

I have never delivered in a large hospital but my sister has and her main complaint was constantly being wheeled/moved around. She stayed at her hospital for a total of 5 days and stayed in 3 different rooms.

lyse01

Options: 
Hospital A: no delivery ward, 15 min away (not really an option)
Hospital B: level III NICU, my OB’s hospital of choice, 20 min away
Hospital C: no NICU, better birthing center, 30 min away
Hospital D : level IV NICU, flagship of the hospital system, teaching hospital, 65 min away, where DD was born.

we’re going with Hospital B. I think you stay in the same room after delivery but I’ll check on the tour. There’s definitely a couch/bed for a support person to sleep on in those rooms.

lin0442

My hospital is a big teaching hospital with a level IV NICU. It’s a very busy place that delivers thousands of babies a year, but they focus on following current best practices.

I think the tradeoff of a big place comes in if something goes wrong- a place that delivers more babies is more likely to have someone who has encountered the problem and trained to solve it. Maybe it’s a little less homey for me, but I’d rather have a well-oiled machine if I or the baby need it.

blueberrymomma

snowhite12 said:

My hospital is similar to your small hospital; labor, deliver and recover all in the same room. I enjoyed it with both of my previous pregnancies. My hospital actually calls it "Family Birthing Place".
Pros: felt less like I was staying in a hospital (more hotel feel). Less risk of losing your belongings as you stay in one room, more private, nurses were very attentive and someone was always around if I needed help. Lastly, the Family Birthing Place has its own entrance/parking lot and nice/large waiting room for guests.
Cons: very small NICU with limited capabilities

I have never delivered in a large hospital but my sister has and her main complaint was constantly being wheeled/moved around. She stayed at her hospital for a total of 5 days and stayed in 3 different rooms.

All of this. I also feel it’s calmer in the smaller hospital and the staff is more personal and friendly. My sister delivered in a larger hospital where she had to move rooms and it was very chaotic and unwelcoming in there. Both my stays were actually very quiet because there weren’t many deliveries happening. We do have the option for a level IV NICU if I go before 36weeks that’s 30 min away

HGRich

Mine was like the former in that you recover in a second room, but like the latter in that it’s way less busy. I think when I delivered DD there were only two other babies/mamas in the whole birthing center. I really like the smaller feel because the nurses spent more time with me and it was quiet. I felt that moving to the recovery room was less to get me out of the way for other patients and more to move me to a more comfortable and quieter room. 
Now, since DD was born another ob practice has started delivering there too, so it may be busier this time. But overall I liked the smaller option for the more personal care. Like, besides the nurses spending more time with me, so did the lactation consultant and pediatrician, etc. And the receptionist recognized my family, and so forth. 
But, the points about NICU are pertinent. This one I’m delivering at has a level 1 only. But there’s a really great level 4 only a half hour away. 

kate_e_nb

As some of the other ladies mentioned, it might be good to check and see what kind of NICU, just in case. The other thing that you might want to look at is what level their OR suites operate at. Not all ORs operate at the same capacity, and if you do end up needing a surgical intervention, that might be a consideration as well. If they don't have the capacity to keep their OR open 24/7, and you need a C-section in the middle of the night, you might end up getting transferred anyway. The other thing you might want to consider is whether or not they have the capacity to have a anesthesiologist on-call 24/7. If having an epidural is important to you, that might affect you decision as well. You might want to ask some women who have delivered at both their experiences as well. I know you mentioned that they're both baby friendly accredited, but sometimes, the accreditation report and the actual experiences  can differ widely. Ultimately, you want to choose the one that's the best for you and your family, so I would even take some time to rank what's most important to you in terms of care and see how that stacks up to each facility! Good luck!

blueberrymomma

@kate_e_nb I’ve never heard of a hospital not having an anestheologist on call. That’s crazy 

kate_e_nb

@blueberrymomma
It IS! But smaller rural hospitals sometimes don't... or they only have a limited number. Which if your one anesthesiologist gets held up... you might end up being SOL! Totally depends on where you live though!

jayhawkmom4

Thanks girls! You guys pretty much hit all my reasons. I just keep going back and forth Both hospitals are big city hospitals and both have a Level 3 NICU. I have toured the big one. Once I tour the smaller one I might get a better idea. Thanks again for your thoughts! 

tmblickley

You might also ask about their pain procedures.  Both my sister and i had csections at city hospitals.  For mine, i had a spinal block and then they tried to get me up and walking as soon as possible and i was dicharged after 72 hrs.   For hers because they had so many patients, they did an epidural for 2 days so she ended up staying for 96 hours.