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Washington Babies
Hospitals: Swedish First Hill or Group Health Capitol Hill?
Sorry this is so long!
I had planned on seeing Dr. Lauren Pray at NW Women's Healthcare and delivering at Swedish First Hill, but I have the option of switching to my husband's insurance which is through Group Health. After I deliver my baby I will be a SAHM, so I will have to switch to DH's insurance at that point anyway. I'm wondering if it makes more sense to just switch now and have the same OBGYN for the next few years at least.
It doesn't seem like there are a lot of reviews of Group Health's birthing center online, though there are many reviews of Swedish First Hill. I have a co-worker who delivered her first child at Swedish and will be delivering her second at GH and she prefers GH. Her description of GH sounds much more warmer and more hands off... as in less required testing, no nursery, etc. .However the lack of reviews makes me wonder.
Swedish First Hill has many more reviews but I'm sure it is called the "Baby Factory" for a reason. Also, I've read that NW Women's Healthcare does a lot more testing which makes sense since I'm guessing their demographic is mostly mothers 30 and up. Plus I think they have a lot of patients from the Seattle Reproductive Medicine. I'm 26 and low-risk so I'm not sure the extra testing is needed.
I have my first appt scheduled with NW Women's in a week and a half, but I'm not too thrilled about some things they mentioned over the phone. I plan to schedule tours of both hospitals asap, as that should help me make a decision.
Please let me know your thoughts on either hospital. Also, any recommendations for a Group Health obgyn would be great too. Thanks!
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Re: Hospitals: Swedish First Hill or Group Health Capitol Hill?
I go to Seattle OBGYN and will deliver at Swedish First Hill. I really like the cohesive relationship between my doctor's office and the hospital, and have heard great things about SFH from people who delivered there.
I am seeing the midwives at GH and will be delivering there. I love it there, everybody is great.
I also have a friend who delivered #1 at Swedish and will be delivering #2 at GH. She really didn't like Swedish - felt that they wanted too much intervention in her care and felt it was generally impersonal.
I have seen a few different ob/gyn at GH (before I was PG) and liked them all. Dr. Jaramillo is very nice.
Let me know if you have any specific GH questions, I'll try to answer them!
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I delivered at Swedish, and went to NW Women's Healthcare. My doctor was very competent, as was my care at Swedish. That said, it was not very personable. I had a complication-free pregnancy and delivery, and the whole thing did seem sort of like a baby-factory. However, that said, I really liked most of the docs at NW Womens (Dr. Pray included). They're nice and very good at their jobs. But if you want a more personable experience, GH might be the better choice.
By they way, NW Women's doesn't push genetic testing on you. If you don't want to do it, they're fine with that.
I've actually been advised by a nurse at GH not to deliver my baby there! Yep, i was surprised. Also heard from a nurse at Sw that they (Sw) do a lot of interventions. My theory on that is that they also see a lot of high risk patients, since that's the hospital they point you to if you're having issues.
I liked swedish, and, as PP mentioned, it was great to have my OB and Swedish work so well together. My OB couldn't be more personable.
I think one of the most important aspects though it to make sure the coverage is the same with both of your insurers. Some insurers will make you pay 10 or 20% of costs, others a flat fee, others will do a deductible, etc. See if your testing is covered in the same way, your hospital stay, surgery, and even postpartum care.
It's great that you're young and have few risk factors, however, at less than 8 weeks pregnant, it's too early to know if you're low risk throughout your pregnancy. Not to worry you, I'm sure your instincts are on target - I just wouldn't want you to base your decision on that until your doctor has cleared any issues, maybe closer to 18 weeks, post 1st trimester and most prenatal testing.
I saw Dr. Levine at NW Women's Healthcare and delivered at Swedish. I had a great experience. Well, our first few hours in our post-partum room wasn't so great since our nurse didn't speak English very well, but as soon as James mentioned that we had to have a clear English speaking nurse, all was well. NW Women's Healthcare was one of the best parts of my pregnancy. I thought they were all super nice and my doctor seemed genuinely concerned about me and seemed to try to build a real relationship with both James and me.
As far as testing, I didn't have any really. I had initial blood test, the GBS test and that was about it, oh, and I had one NST, but that was okay. They gave me juice and a legitimate reason to stay out of work a little while longer.
I was 27 and very low-risk as well and no testing was even suggested. My doc mentioned at my first appointment that if I wanted an Amnio, I could let him know, but that at my age and being low-risk they wouldn't necessary suggest it. I am not interested in any extra testing, so I would remember for sure if they had.
TTC #2 for a million years: SA normal, CD 23 bloodwork shows nothing amiss, ovulation detected. Next step: ? maybe CD3 bloodwork to check eggs? All out of pocket, so limited IF tests/treatments.
My son was born at Swedish FH and there are a few points that you're off on. First, there isn't a nursery at Swedish. The baby stays with you in your room unless they need to be in the NICU.
And it's not a "baby factory"... that's the job of the parents.
I think they're just a really good, reputable hospital so many doctors choose to associate themselves with them and deliver babies there.
And what extra testing are you talking about? I believe any testing prior to when you're in labor is the choice of your OB, not the hospital.
That said, you should absolutely go where you're comfortable. Maybe touring both would give you a better idea?
I am delivering at GH, but not on GH insurance. I go through Neighborhood Care and the Nurse-Midwives there have birthing privilages at GH. My insurance also covers their care fully, which is nice.
I had a friend deliver at Swedish, but there were too many interventions for her, and they pushed things on her that she didnt' want. She had a doula and said that made all the difference, because her doula helped her take control of her experience a bit more. But like others have said, I think it depends upon your care provider too. So, if you find a care provider you are comforatble with and they work well in the location they deliver in, you should be fine.
Good Luck!
I would absolutely switch now, it makes more sense to be able to find an OB that you can stay with for years to come!
As far as swedish goes I delivered there and HATED it! The recovery nurses were horrible! They would come in the middle of the night and turn on all the lights waking me, dh and the baby up and then they would leave the room saying they would be back in just a minute and never return so I would have to get up or wake dh up and turn them off again. The pedi on staff there had the worst bedside manner I have ever seen and we actually refused his service after he came in 3 hours after my c/s quizzing me and snapping his fingers in my face at 6am when I had just gotten into recovery at 3am! Then when we left the hospital the nurse wouldn't let me hold ds in his carseat she basically took Cruz from me! I was there for 4 days and both dh and I got into the car to leave and both of us broke down in tears!
My Dr was with Seattle OBGYN and their office staff was awful, my dr only came by to see me once and only because it was her day on rotation! Even though they are a short walk down a ramp from swedish Anyway in my mind it can't get much worse than my experience with swedish!
I had a good experience at Swedish First Hill. I love my OB and her practice and felt the doctors (except one grouchy one) and nurses were all attentive and personable. We were there for 4 nights and each night they gave me the option of having the baby in the room or in the nursery. We opted for the nursery after the first night because 1.) We were exhausted and 2.) We were kinda nervous!
I thought the food was GREAT (for a hospital) at Swedish. Its menu-style, so you could get whatever you want.
It's a little different in that you give birth in the birthing suite and then move to a post-partem suite. We had a really small post-partem suite, but it was fine. We just couldn't have a TON of people visiting at the same time (which we didn't want anyhow). The birthing suite was big though, so if you wanted an audience while you give birth, no prob.
I know a couple people who had bad experiences at Swedish. I am sure every single hospital has people that have had both spectacular and horrible experiences. Childbirth is unpredictable like that.
We will likely go back to Swedish when we have #2, but more because I love my OB and that's where she delivers. For me, it's more important to feel that connection with your doc and his/her practice, then the hospital.
Oh, and I also liked that Swedish First Hill is a level 3 trauma center, or something like that (I forget the exact name) - so that if something is wrong with the baby they have the ability to deal with everything on site, rather then sending the baby to Children's.
I wanted to add, I was super impressed at how well the docs/nurses honored my birth plan. I came in with it, they put it at the front of my chart, and with each new shift of nurse/doc, they went over it with me. Nothing was ever pushed on me or done without my permission. Maybe I just got lucky? Also, the next day after giving birth, the doctor that delivered came to visit him. She held him and oogled him. She didn't have to do that, since my regular OB came to check on me. Also, one of the nurses that were on with us for 12 hours during part of the delivery came in to visit before her shift and meet the baby. She didn't have to do that either. Again, maybe I got lucky - but usually I'm not lucky so who knows!
I'm surprised at how many PP's didn't think/know there was a nursery at Swedish. There is, but its purely optional. They ask you each day if you want to "make a reservation" for the nursery each night you are there. We happily said yes all but one of the nights. There was no pressure to use it at all.
Oh and my OB is from Seattle Women's Clinic in the Nordstrom Tower (adjacent to Swedish).
Aly, how weird! When we did the tour, the tour guide told us there was a nursery that was almost never staffed. She told us not to count on it and that babies stayed with the parents almost always, unless something was wrong. That's why we were so surprised when we were there and they were offering up the nursery like no biggie! I figured maybe the tour guide was wrong!
I also wanted to add that maternity care is covered at GH 100%, at least with the plan I'm on. Even things that other places may bill you for, like an epidural or any costs related with a c-section. Additionally, Lactation consultant care is covered at 100% for (I believe) 3 years post partum. Which is amazing, I think.
GH also has a 24-hour nurse-line and they are really wonderful, and if the problem you're having sounds serious they refer you to the proper channels, otherwise really help you deal with whatever is going on. And I've been to L&D twice now with kidney stones, and gotten to see a little of what it'll be like there when I deliver. Everybody has been so helpful, thoughtful, and caring. ?
I had my C-section at GHC and had a great experience. My actual doc was a Family Practice doc in Burien who also took OB patients. The surgery was done by Dr. Jaramillo who is OB in Seattle. She was very nice, but I seem to remember her leaving GHC recently.
My surgery went fantastic and everyone took great care of me. Afterwards during the recovery, some nurses were nicer than others, but that's probably true everywhere. They do give you your space between the checkups they have to do, unless you ask for something.
Have you checked what you coverage will be with the two different insurance policies? My GHC coverage was awesome, I paid $200 for my in patient fee and that was it.
I know I'm a little late...but I figured this is an important decision and I would add my two cents just in case
I delivered Caden at GH Capitol Hill and really loved it. You get the same nurse with you for all of your delivery (well unless they have to switch) and my OB was unavailable for my delivery, but the doctor on-call, the nurses and the residents were all amazing during my delivery. They did everything they could to make sure I didn't have a c-section unless I had to (I was very close to having an emergency c-section after pushing 4 hours and 42 hours of labor).
As others have noted I paid WAY less than most of the people I know to have my son, since I only had to pay the hospital co-pay and that covered everything (including my sons circumcision and my epidural).
I really enjoyed my stay there and the people that worked there are great. My parents and family did complain about the waiting room
I keep thinking of things to add... sorry! But if you're considering switching your coverage to GH then I think there's more to weigh than just the delivery.
Anyway, just wanted to say that GH gave me a referral to a massage therapist and I got 10 prenatal massage sessions covered at 100%. No co-pay or anything! I know they also have a good allowance for covering things like acupuncture and chiropractic services.
I do know what MelodyFerg means though about the waiting room ... it's tiny! But there's a much bigger waiting area downstairs that is more comfortable.