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PhoebeJones3
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Chattanooga moms & Hospitals
PhoebeJones3
member
Hello ladies -
This part is for already moms:
Where did you deliver?
Obviously I can't assume that everyone delivered in a hospital, but since that is my option I was wondering what you guys had to say about the hospital that you delivered in.
I have the option to go to Erlanger - Women's East - or Parkridge East.
1) Which hospital did you go to?
2) What did you like most/Least?
For Currently Pregnant Chatt women:
1) Where do you plan to deliver? (Hospital, home, birth center, under a tree)
2) Why did you choose the location?
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Re: Chattanooga moms & Hospitals
I've never had a baby, but I have experience will all the places mentioned & I've always delivered several babies now as an EMT student.
Out of the 3 you mentioned I would choose Erlanger. The staff is better and more attentive. Also, if anything oges wrong you are in the only level 1 trauma center in the area. The rooms are nice & I just think it's a better, safer & more controlled environment.
Women's East looks nice, but I just was not a fan. My little sister hated having her baby there. Way too relaxed & way too many people. The rooms are good though.My sister has her 2nd baby at East Ridge which is pretty good. But again, if something goes wrong they will transport you to Erlanger.
I attended a birth at a birth center across from East Ridge hospital. It was a great & relaxed atmosphere. There is a midwife there. If that is what you are looking for, then go there. But obviously, they cannot handle it if things go wrong. So, it all depends on you & what you want.
HTH!~
Training Roxy
I am having my first babies at Erlanger downtown. I live in N. Chatt., so it's the closest and kind of a no brainer. But I would choose it anyway, because it's the only Level 1 NICU in town.
I have had friends give birth at Erlanger downtown and women's east. I think the pros for womens east are: the rooms are a little bigger than Erlanger downtown, and everything is newer, and you are right by all the fast food and everything at the mall, parking is easier (no garage to deal with).
One question I would want to ask before having a baby anywhere other than Erlanger downtown is-- what happens if my baby needs to go to the NICU downtown, do I get transferred to a room there too, or do I have to finish recovering wherever I am (esp. if you've had a c-section you won't be ready to go on day 1)? Just food for thought.
To the OP-- who's your OB?
My OB used to be Tiffany Few - and while she was nice, I decided that I wanted a midwife. Now I see Lori Clemmons from North Park in Hisxon. She is certified through each of the hospitals so I have to choose one.
I was thinking of bringing in my birth plan, and getting a copy of their policies and procedures and see who I agreed with the most, or who would be the most accommodating to my desires.
I was leaning towards Women's East because of the spacious rooms, and as the first poster said, its seems pretty relaxed, which is what I like.
I'm in no way high risk, so I don't for see anything going 'wrong' - but I'd follow the baby wherever it goes. Unless its absolutely a crazy incident I'm sure they would try to take of the baby in their own NICU first. But I'll have to ask what would happen if she was transferred.
I suppose since I'm an extreme optimist I am terrible at planning for the worst.
Thanks for the info and things to think about!
Oh wow! I'm glad your ok, and they were able to help. I think what its really going to have to come down to, is me going and getting a tour of the place, and being able to ask all sorts of questions until I can't think of any more.
I'll just have to go with who is most accommodating, because I have a fairly specific birth plan. (I know you can't control everything, but I'd like to try) And if it happens that I have to get transfered, I'm thankful its just a skip and a hop away.
I had my first child almost 8 years ago at Women's East. I ended up having to have a c-section, and still had a wonderful experience. Everyone was so nice and attentive. I loved the rooms were big enough so that everything is done right there. I had my 2nd child at a hospital in GA, and it didn't come close. They took the baby out for everything. At Women's East, they do the bath, and all of the testing right in your room. This may be the case with the other area hospitals as well, I'm not sure. I will be going back to Women's East for my scheduled c-section in 3 weeks.
My Dr is in the Galen group, and their offices are located behind that hospital. However, I still had choice and chose to go there again.
Good luck.
I will be delivering at Parkridge East. To me, this is hands down the best place to deliver a baby. Everyone I have met on staff there is so nice and caring. I like that it has the small intimate feel that many women like about Women's East and they do allow your baby to be checked out at your bedside instead of going to the nursery. They also have a high-level NICU and blood bank which Women's East does not. Erlanger is so big and hectic it is a pain to try and find a parking spot and then navigate up to whatever floor you need to be on.
Not trying to knock any of the other hospitals as I know they take good care of their patients, but Parkridge East is my choice. I just found out that they are now using this amazing professional photgraphy service for the hospital photos called Bella Baby Photography and these photos are amazing! Definitely not your typical hospital photos... these look very boutique and high end.
I used to live in Cleveland and was supposed to deliver there. DS was born at 33w6d though so they transferred me to Erlanger because they have a NICU which thankfully we didn't need. We did stay for 4 days though and it was a great experience. The nurses and doctors were wonderful. Because I was transferred my OB did not deliver DS but the residents and attending doctor were very good. The lactation specialist was wonderful and so patient as well. DS struggled to latch and nursing was a challenge to say the least but she helped so much and we finally got it.
GL with your decision.
I delivered in Erlanger Women's East and LOVED the experience. I had a natural birth and not once did I ever feel rushed or pushed. The Nurses seemed to genuinely care and were very helpful. They on;y put you on the monitor for 15 minutes at intervals, so I was free to walk around and labour how I needed to.
They were informative on everything they were doing with me and the baby and were thorough with all their safety regulations, very accommodating and the labouring rooms are nice and comfy. (Chattanooga only has private rooms!) I also went with a nurse midwife instead of an OB
We also were hoping to go to a midwife's house, but couldn't afford it. My sister and a couple friends all went to Women's East and had great experiences. One of them had twins, and had no real complications, so was able to keep everything onsite, instead of being transferred to Erlanger downtown. The only complaint my sis had was that, while some of the nurses were super nice, some of them were actually kinda rude. But I'd think that would go without saying for pretty much any hospital. We found an amazing (and affordable) nurse-midwife, Jennifer Mercer, who had made it clear that she will make sure to follow our birthing plan. We took a tour of Erlanger East, and the nurse that showed us around said that most of the calls are made by the delivering doctor (our nurse midwife), and that they will comply with our birthing plan as well (they didn't look at the birthing plan, but said just to have it when we come in to deliver and they will make sure it is in our charts to be followed). We are doing hypnobirthing and so have a fairly strict birthing plan as well. They are very comfortable with natural births and have tons of equipment (cd player, birthing ball, squatting bar) available and will bring them to you (cd player/dvd player is in every room) upon request. They used to have the option of water birth, but got rid of it a few years back. However, you're more than welcome to get into the shower/tub for everything except the actual birthing (I believe--ask, it doesn't hurt to check to see if they would allow it). They only allow up to 4 people in the room with you during the birth. Everyone else has to wait in waiting areas--however, the nurse did say that along with the delivering doctor, there would be several other nurses coming in and out (i'm sure the same with other hospitals), which can make the room a bit crowded. Their website says no more tours, but if you call them and ask nicely (on a weekend evening, like Sunday), they're more than likely to take you around--I would suggest it.
Good luck on your decision. Looking at your due date, I'm going to guess that maybe y'all have already made your choice. :-) Maybe we'll see you at Women's East as it looks like we're due around the same time. :-)
To answer for future moms -
I ended up having to deliver at Erlanger Downtown since I was 3 weeks early and had to be induced because my waters were leaking for nearly a week! (yikes, I know!)
Anyways the staff were amazing - I loved my nurses, and delivery went smoothly.
The biggest complaint is that the recovery room is TINY - it felt cramped with just my husband, myself, and our newborn. I recommend saving visits until you are home from the hospital.
I'm 19 weeks with our second child and plan to return. We are high risk but women's east has a level 2 NICU so we feel it to be a good choice unless OB suggests otherwise. If level one is needed they transport mother and baby to Erlanger for better care.
Either way they take great care of you.