Northside Hospital for delivery?

ellieglasgow

Hi Ladies,

i am 27 weeks pregnant and I have to decide where to deliver - my options are either to deliver at Northside where I'm guaranteed there will be a midwife from my OB's office on duty and an OB from the office on call, or I can deliver at Northside Forsyth (10 minutes away from home) where won't be a midwife on call and the OB will be whoever is on call from the larger OB group.

As I have only met 2 OBs and 2 midwives from my OB's office, I am not sure how much of a big deal it is.  I saw the new Northside Forsyth maternity unit before it opens and it is very nice and looks comfortable.  Can anyone tell me what Northside is like?  Has anyone had good/bad experiences delivering with a doctor they have never met?

I'm sure it is not a big deal, but it feels like one today!  I'm from the UK and am never quite sure how healthcare works here.   

Thanks in advance!

 

scherza

As far as I know, standard practice with most OB/GYN groups is that you'll start rotating through the various docs in the office around 28-30 weeks.  You should see each doctor at least once before you deliver.

If you're closer to Northside Forsyth, why not go there?  That way you'll avoid a half-hour or more car trip when you're in labor.

Mrs. atlgatorgirl

Do all the doctors at your OB's practice deliver at both Northside and Northside Forsyth?  If not, talk to your OB about meeting w/ the ones that do, so you won't be caught off guard.

As far as Northside is concerned, it is very nice, as well.  Why not set up a tour there to see what you think and then make your decision?

MrsL1022

I delivered at Northside (Atlanta) and had a great experience. I live 10 mins away from Northside Forsyth but it wasn't open in July when I had my son. I would have gone there. I started rotating around my OB practice around 28 weeks so that I could meet the drs and midwives. I ended up getting delivered by my dr so I was happy. I think you'll have a good experience at either place so why not go somewhere that is more convenient? If you are not attached to any of the drs, then go to Forsyth. If you'd be more comfortable knowing that it'll be someone from your OB practice then go to Atlanta. Clearly I am no help I don't think you can really go wrong.

kep

I delivered at Northside and had a great experience for the most part. Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy! )

julienandy

I delivered at Northside with a doctor I had never met and it was fine.  I say go with the hospital close to home unless the midwife is critical for a positive experience for you.      

UGAbride

I was in the same situation as you a few weeks ago....I live much closer to Northside Forsyth, but my midwife only delivers at the main location.  I love my midwife, so I chose to drive to Perimeter.  I don't regret it, however, it was sooo busy when I delivered and it would have been nice to be closer to home.  It was less of an option for me to use the Forsyth location because there weren't even any OB's from my practice on call there yet when my son was born.  For me, being comfortable with who delivers my baby trumps location (as Northside Perimeter is certaintly a world-class facility to boot). 

By the time we have our next baby hopefully my practice will even have a midwife at the Forsyth location!

savannah_bride

GO TO FORSYTH!!!!! Seriously, you will LOVE it. I delivered DD there; she was the 8th baby born there. Everyone is absolutely wonderful and loving their new maternity center. Everything is brand new and the staff seemed to like playing with all of their new toys LOL A lot of the staff came from the big Northside and told me that a lot of the staff down there is new now. THe staff at Forsyth was hand selected and just amazing in everyway. We had a very hard delivery and were the 1st baby in their NICU so we had a chance to try out all of their "services" We had an amazing experience there and am SO glad that I decided to go there instead of going down to Atlanta. As far as your dr/ midwife situation- I had never seen the dr that delivered my baby until the moment that he showed up and told me I needed to be induced for pre-eclampsia. Prior to my experience, I was all about having my particular dr or midwife deliver me, but really couldn't have cared less who was there when the moment was at hand. I live in Dawsonville, so Forsyth was much closer to me. If it's closer to you, why not go to the brand new hospital with the super nice staff? If you have any questions, feel free to email me tcharper at gmail dot com. I know I sound like an informercial for this hospital, but they were just SO wonderful to us. DH and I actually joke about going back to stay there for a couple of days b/c we liked it so much LOL

savannah_bride

Oh, and like a pp mentioned, the big Northside is MUCH more crowded. While I was in the L&D room, the staff kept telling me that I should be sooooo glad to be there b/c they were overcrowded at the big campus and had women in labor laying on gurneys (sp?) separated with curtains b/c there were not enough rooms to put them all in. It just sounded like we had a more personal touch with everything because the hospital was far from at capacity.

tracigator

I delivered at the "big baby factory" Northside and had a very good experience.  As far as I was concerned, once I got into a room in L&D (I had to stay over the night before in urgent care because we were waiting on test results due to my pre-e) and then after I delivered, I couldn't really tell they were crowded.  That being said, go with the hospital closer to home! It will be much less stressful for you when the time comes - just not even having to deal with the traffic the closer you get to the big Northside. My OB delivered me but by the time I was ready to deliver, I could care less who was delivering me, I just wanted him out! 

JDB3358

I delivered at the Northside in Atlanta, and it was a great experience. They also have a newer maternity wing and their rooms are huge compared to Wellstar Cobb or Kennestone. I had to go to the Prenatal ER the week before DD came due to pre-e monitoring. Everyone was very nice and attentive. Then a week later my water broke. I live about 30 min from there, called my dr and they had a room waiting when I got there, and they were slammed! I think they said they had over 20 babies born that night.

As far as your midwife, I agree with pp that you will be rotated through all OBs in your practice so you are familiar with them just in case your OB is not on call.  The morning before my water broke I went into the office for pre-labor and saw the dr that would deliver my DD for the first time. Later than afternoon my water broke, so atleast I got to meet her beforehand. But honestly, things will go so quickly, you really won't even see your doctor until you get close to delivery, and I would not have cared who the doctor was. Good Luck!

MrsL1022

I just wanted to add that for my next baby (it will be a scheduled c/s) I will deliver at Forsyth b/c by then my dr will be going there. I agree you should go to forsyth.

tdt

I delivered at Northside and my delivery was by a midwife from the Kaiser Cumberland office.  (Cumberland was on duty that week, I usually go to the Glenlake facility).  It was a great experience even though the midwife was someone I hadn't met before. 

 Of course, I was in so much pain I didn't care who delivered when it came time to push, as long as the pain stopped!