Northwest vs. Swedish?
samjodo
member
Hi moms, I have a question for any of you who delivered at Swedish or Northwest Hospital. I have been going to Swedish in Ballard since I started trying to get pregnant, and really like my Dr. However, I just got secondary insurance through the University at no cost, and it is not accepted at Swedish. I am also covered through my husband's Aetna, and it is pretty good, but if I switched to Northwest I could use both and have almost no out of pocket expenses.
I am touring both this month, but wold love the opinions of anyone who has delevered at one of these places. I don't want to switch Drs, and we were planning on paying some hospital bills so it is not like we don't have the money, but it would be nice to use it for something else.
Thanks for any input!
Re: Northwest vs. Swedish?
I'm delivering at Northwest and we just did the tour last week. I had lots of questions since we are aiming for a natural birth, but don't have our hearts set on it. I really like that they are flexible and will do everything they can to meet the parent's wants/needs. The only downside is not all of their birthing rooms have been rennovated. So if you get put in an older room and want to use the jacuzzi you have to walk to one - there is one available, but not in your room like the newer ones.
When I did my tour there was a woman there whose doctor was not at NW and she was still looking to deliver there so I don't think it would be any problem unless you are set on having your OB deliver your baby.
Good luck!
TTC #2 since 1/14
Miscarriage d/t blighted ovum 8/14
I'm going to Northwest too. My cousin gave birth to all 4 of her kids at Swedish Ballard, but felt their level of service went down since her first birth, just her opinion. I do like Swedish since their rooms are rather large, and I have a pretty big family. Other than that I don't really know opinion wise about them.
I did find that everything in Northwest was more centralized, they have a kitchen where you can store food, at least for the dads I think that makes a difference. The rooms are small, but cozy. You stick with one Nurse through most of your delivery (I think at some point they have to switch out due to time shifts), but after labor you go back into the same room you gave birth in and it ends up being one nurse to 3 patients. From my understanding they just remodeled but I felt like it was more a boutique'ish kind of place, which I like. When we toured there was still plenty of rooms available, and the nurse doing the tour was pleasant and knowledgeable.
I hope that helps. Good luck!
Thank you ladies! We aldo just moved, literally one block from Northwest, so I think that might be the place! I will check in with my Dr. and weigh her opinion, but it sounds like Northwest is a good chioce for us.
I appreciate your help!
I delivered at Northwest and had a REALLY good experience. I love the staff there and felt comfortable during my stay.
(One note about the jacuzzis, though....I ended up moving rooms because I wanted one with the jacuzzi. Unfortunately, those tubs are quite a bit smaller than the ones in the other wing. The ones in the older wing (that you walk out in the hall to get to) are much bigger and more comfortable. I would have chosen to go back to the older room and use those jacuzzis if I'd had a choice.)
I was seeing the midwives at Swedish Ballard, but I switched to Northwest because I wanted a chance at a VBAC. I adored my doctor, so if you want to get a dr. with Nortwest, I loved Dr. Kurachi. She was at Swedish Ballard until she and a few other doctors all moved together a year or two ago.
So, my experience at Northwest was mixed. Some of the nurses were wonderful and some weren't. One of them kept forgetting to give me my pain meds (I had a c-section) until we would page her and ask about them. Not so great. My other big issue was that it was really cold there. I was mostly good since I had a ton of blankets, but my husband and any guests were freezing and the biggest concern was that my newborn was freezing. We bundled her up, but I was worried she was really cold when getting changed or going to and from the tub. The nurses said all of the temperature was controlled on one panel and laboring women were really hot, so there was nothing they could do about it. Also, make sure you don't get a room near the nurses station. All night I could hear a bell ring as someone paged them. It drove me nuts. Other than those things, it was good.
Good luck!