Hospital Choice ??

KaliBali04

I am currently at crossroad with choosing a hosptial, and I have to make a decision fast!

I posted a couple days ago about thinking about wanting to switch from an OB to a midwife.  Now, here is the dilemma.   

If I want a  midwife, I have to change hospitals (insurance is not an issue at all with this part of the situation).  The hospital I'm delivering at now (with the OB) is a very good hospital - it is actually connected to the Children's hospital here, so there is a great NICU if required.  The hospital that I would deliver at with a midwife is a very "fancy" hospital with a lot of amenities, but they aren't very good in the situation that there is a serious emergency with the baby.

In a perfect world, I would deliver with a midwife at the hospital I'm at now.  That is not an option though.

My conundrum is that I don't know if I should be focusing on the preparedness of the hospital in case of emergency or the kind of L&D I want (as natural as possible - preferably with a midwife). 

I have had no complications thus far - Any comments/insights/anything is appreciated! 

 

dstar

That is a hard decision.  I am sure your delivery will go fine but unfortunately none of us no for sure what could happen.  As for me, I love the idea of a midwife, delivering at one of those fancy places but in the end I will and have choosen a hospital with children's on-site (best in So. CA). 

balibaby

dstar:

That is a hard decision.  I am sure your delivery will go fine but unfortunately none of us no for sure what could happen.  As for me, I love the idea of a midwife, delivering at one of those fancy places but in the end I will and have choosen a hospital with children's on-site (best in So. CA). 

I agree with this. I like knowing there is a top rated NICU, just in case. I want to have a natural delivery if possible as well.

miaomi

If you go with the nice hospital with the midwife, is the hospital with the NICU close?  I can see both sides....Good Luck!

KaliBali04

miaomi:

If you go with the nice hospital with the midwife, is the hospital with the NICU close?  I can see both sides....Good Luck!

There would be 2 options with the midwife hospital

1 would be about a 15 minute drive and the other would be about a 5 minute drive to the super good NICU. 

I just don't want something to happen because I took the more "selfish" route to get the kind of L&D I want instead of going to the hospital with the best NICU. 

Just an FYI - the nice amenities have nothing to do with my decision.   

danto

miaomi:

If you go with the nice hospital with the midwife, is the hospital with the NICU close?  I can see both sides....Good Luck!

I know a couple who had to have their baby transported to the NICU from their birthing center and are going with the birthing center for baby2, even though transport may be likely.  She said it was no big deal and they were close enough that the transport was like going from one side of a hospital to another. 

AngelKT

Lets say, god forbid, your baby needs intensive care, does the other hospital have the ability to keep your baby alive and get him/her transferred to the other hospital?

 

Cakemom10

Truly its up to you and you do have to think about yourself a little.

 Now that being said, we have two hospitals in town. One has a childrens ER and great NICU... other has no emergency and if anything is wrong they immediatly transport. 

 I have choosen the one with the ER, one because that is where my OB delivers but the main reason is because when my nephew was born he needed to be cared for immediatly and it was right there... what would have happened if they werent? Luckily we didnt have to find out. 

Then my cousin had her baby at 24 weeks and 3 days... She was at the other hospital. They immediatly had to rush this 1lb 11oz miracle clear across town to get him too experienced NICU doctors.... while this was going on, my poor cousin had to sit for 3 days at the other hospital while they cared for her. She couldnt be there with her baby and her DH spent most his time with the baby and not her. 

Made my decision easy. I want a great delivery, but most importantly if anything goes wrong with me or the baby I want the best as close as possible. Seconds can mean so much in an emergency. 

KaliBali04

AngelKT:

Lets say, god forbid, your baby needs intensive care, does the other hospital have the ability to keep your baby alive and get him/her transferred to the other hospital?

 

I would certainly hope that the hospital could keep the baby alive in a crisis...but I'm sure they'd transfer him/her right away.  I am thinking it would be best to sit down and talk w/the midwife I'd be going with to express these concerns.

AngelKT

KaliBali04:

AngelKT:

Lets say, god forbid, your baby needs intensive care, does the other hospital have the ability to keep your baby alive and get him/her transferred to the other hospital?

 

I would certainly hope that the hospital could keep the baby alive in a crisis...but I'm sure they'd transfer him/her right away.  I am thinking it would be best to sit down and talk w/the midwife I'd be going with to express these concerns.

Talk with her just to be sure.

We chose the hospital that would be closest to us and that would provide the best care (the other hospital with NICU is further away, always busy, and you might get residents delivering your baby!) but I also know that in the event that baby needs specialized care they can transfer him/her immediately.

Hope that helps!

dstar

I would ask the fancy place, what kind of care they can give a newborn if there is a problem.  Then make your decision. 

thomas&lynn

I didn't read other responses first so sorry if this is duplicative.

First, can you simply switch practices to one where MWs deliver at your preferred hospital?

If not, and this is coming from a woman who chose a hosiptal (and the 45min drive each way it comes with) for it's NICU and will do so again (yes, with MWs)............I'd choose hospital over doctor/nurse and then try to choose a doc that is known to be more likely to help you reach the birth you prefer. Not all OBs are quick to give C's.

greeneyes9800

This is an easy one! Go for the hospital that has the best care available for you and your baby. I chose a hospital that had a fantastic NICU. I had a fantastic, full-term pregnancy with DD#1. However, after she was born DD stayed in the NICU for 24hrs. I I'd gone to a different hosptial, she would have been transferred to one with a high level NICU and I would have been stuck in a different hospital from DD. Some people do not have a choice in the hospital where they will deliver, Choose the one with the best facilities i case of an emergency.