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South Florida Babies
bisabelm
member
Moms who delievered in Boca
bisabelm
member
We just did a tour of West Boca Birthing Pavilion but I'm not sure when we will be able to tour Boca Community due to DH's work schedule. Can someone shed some light on the pro's and con's of these two hospitals if possible? Thanks in advance ladies 
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Re: Moms who delievered in Boca
I delivered at West Boca. I can't give a comparison because I didn't tour Boca Community, but I was happy with my experience at West Boca, The pros were:
-since its a seperate building from the hospital, it was easy for DH and visitors to park and just walk in.
- they put baby lojack (sp?) on every baby for security
-they have enough rooms that they rarely have to room two people toogether (although that did happen to me when i was there).
-the nurses were very warm and attentive
Cons:
-there are no set visiting hours sothere was an endless revolving door of visitors at all times
-the recovery rooms and bathrooms were not as sparkling clean as you would expect in a hospital
-they don'tkeep the babies in the nursery unless there is a problem, so I had to take care of ds 24/7 right after my emergency c-section.
BCH rocks! Okay, I liked the home like rooms and the super staff on the day shift, not so much the night shift. I loved my delivery nurse and the lactation consultant. I liked that my husband could sleep in the room and we had a choice for the baby of room or nursery. I liked the education course. I liked that my family could come in right after the delivery and the ease of access for them. The parking is okay. Bring your own food or eat theirs, but husband will need own food. They have free refrigerators in the rooms. The refrigerator makes a difference. The bathrooms were clean as were the rooms and sheets. We brought our own pillows b/c bigger and softer. We all had a great time and loved it and I was there from 1am to 4:30pm for delivery and then for the full 48 hours from delivery almost. We were ready to go home.
I have had both my children at Boca Community so I can't speak for West Boca.
My experience at BCH was amazing. I had terrific nurses and care.
Just to add to Andre's post above, BCH also has the security bracelet on baby's ankle and BCH will keep your baby for you in the nursery if you request it, and they will bring you back the baby when you need to feed him/her.
At BCH, your husband can spend the night with you in your room and is given a bed to sleep in, I am not sure if it's the same at West Boca, I believe they only have some sort of pull out.
You do share a bathroom with another room but I never had a problem with that, never even knew there was another person next door.
West Boca is known not to be breastfeeding friendly, and gives formula to babies unless you specifically request them not to.
West Boca does not have a lactation consultant on staff, so if you need one, you'll have to find your own and pay out of pocket.
Also, last winter, during flu season, WB had a ban on siblings coming to visit and BCH did not. This was definatly a big deal for me, might not be for you.
That is all I can think of right now!
Good luck making your choice.
I delivered at WBMC. To comment on the cons above:
I combated the visiting hour issue by telling my friends and family that there were visiting hours and set them as I saw fit.
Also, I had a c-section and then nursery had no problem at all keeping my LO in the nursery. The brought her in to feed during the night and I kept her in the room with me when I wanted during the day.
I had issues getting LO to latch and the nurses were extremely helpful and spent significant time over my 3 day stay trying to help me.
I had a wonderful overall experience at WBMC and look forward to going there when we decide to have our next LO.
I delievered at Boca Community and will with this baby too...and FWIW, I live in Miami and drove that far for #1 and will for #2 because I had the best experience there. I was hospitalized there twice...one for pre- the week before DD was due (actually, 1 year ago today!)...the nurses were super nice and caring. The following week I was induced b/c of pre-E and again, super supportive. The rooms were nice and big. After 24 hours, I had a c-section...my recovery went so well and I believe it was because of hte nurses. They went very slow with me, and if I was in pain, didn't hesitate to give me pain meds. I never waited more than 5 min for anything I asked for...pain meds, help with something, bringing baby to me. I did keep in the nursery both nights b/c I needed to recovery and they were very supportive of that, never made me feel bad. They had great lactation consultaants and classes, but were never pushy about it.
What I liked the most is that right after DD was born, they weighed, measured, assessed her immediately, then DH cut the cord, and they brought her to me. Then DH and she went to teh nursery where he helped clean her and stuff (while I was being stitched up). Immediately, I was brought back to my L&D room, which at that point, was comforting to me since I was familiar with it. I never went to a separte recovery room. Within 10 min, DH walked in carrying DD and placed her into my arms.About 20-30 min later, we let our families come in and they were allowed to stay as long as I wanted them to. She always was with his from that point on, until at night when I was exhausted and put her in the nursery.
I don't have personal experience with West Boca, but my friend has a same experience with an induced labor ending in c-section there. She said she had to go to recovery for 2 hours after the baby was born and no one was allowed there with her. She was then brought to her room and the baby still had to wait another 2 hours in the nursery, so she didnt' get to see her baby for a few hours. Her husband never was called over to cut the cord, and he wasn't allowed to go to the nursery with the baby, nor help with the bath.
Both hospitals are very safe as far as the baby lo-jack system, everyone has to have ID and be let in through locked doors. West Boca does have a better NICU than Boca Community, but I work at Miami Children's, so God forbid my child needed a NICU, I'd want him/her sent to MCH.
Camryn Grace ~ July 6th, 2009 ~ 7lbs 9oz, 20.5"
Brayden Richard Drew ~ December 20, 2010~7lbs 9oz, 20"
Jessi- who is your SIL? I will have to ask for her. One of my close friends is also a labor and delivery nurse there but does night shifts.
Susan
I haven't delivered yet, but I've heard only wonderful things about Boca Community, we toured there a couple of weeks ago, and we're definitely delivering there.
-You'll definitely have a private room and bathroom during labor and delivery. You can make visiting hours whatever you want and you can have as many or few people in the room with you as you want.
-Every baby is breastfed (if that is your intention) within one hour of delivery. No exceptions. They are very encouraging about bfing and they have a lactation consultant there every day but Sunday. Regardless of what day you deliver, you will see a lactation consultant before you leave.
-You will have a private recovery room with a pull-out couch for your husband to sleep on if he wants to stay with you. You can keep your baby with you at all times, or send them to the nursery if you see fit. The bathrooms in the recovery rooms are semi-private (you share with one other mom).
-The labor & delivery rooms as well as the recovery rooms are HUGE! It's like a big hotel room with plenty of space and seating if you decide to have company or if you want a birthing tub. Plenty of room.
-The Toppel Family Center (the maternity ward) is separate from the hospital in that you can only access it from the front door, or, if necessary from the ER. There are no sick people around to get your LO sick and there's only really one elevator that is monitored by security, so your baby is not gonna go missing. They even put lo-jack on your baby so that if LO gets near an elevator, an alarm goes off and they make sure that the baby isn't going anywhere.
-West Boca is a FOR profit hospital and Boca Community is a Not-For-Profit hospital. This means that a delivery at West Boca is going to cost you much more b/c they nickel and dime you for everything. I know with my insurance provider, a typical vaginal deliver at West Boca actually costs more than a C-Section at Boca Community. It's crazy all the stuff they charge you for. Additionally, there is not lactation consultant on staff at West Boca, so if you choose to see one, you are actually seeing a outside contractor that may or may not be covered by your insurance (these types of consultants typically don't take insurance) and you will have to pay out of pocket.
Just some thoughts.
Boca Community seems like a really great place, I liked it a lot and the staff were very friendly. I highly recommend you take a look at Boca Community, a tour if you can, or just pick it based on our awesome recommendations, lol.
one correction here, every baby is NOT breastfed within the first hour, regardless of the circumstance. My oldest wasn't given to me until 3 hours after labor.
Loved Boca Community so much that we're already set on having our next (whenever that happens) at BCH. Nurses were great, followed our birth plan and really made me feel at home.
If you have time you should take a tour at BCH, even if your hubby can't go.,
Best wishes!