A tale of two hospitals.....

diz1313 · June 2014

So eventually I am going to have to decide between two hospitals. (Fairfax Hospital and Fair Oaks Hospital) Fairfax is where I delivered my DS, it is known as a baby factory and as a result was pushed too fast and had pretty traumatic outcome. However, this time around I will be having a c-section so won't have that mess to worry about and Fairfax is known to have the best NICU in the area. That all being said, I do have some residual bad feelings about the place in general. *shudder* Fair Oaks on the other hand is newer, has a more laid back feel, and is where I wanted to deliver my DS. That all being said.... when we were first trying to get pregnant again and thinking we would only have one we decided we would go to Fair Oak.... but now that we know we are having two I'm not sure. I don't know if it would be best to be at the place with a better NICU in case the babies need it or be at the place without bad memories. I know that the bottom line is that it is a personal decision one has to make for themselves, but I thought I'd put it out there to get some outside opinions as it really does help me think.

basil2 · June 2014

Is there a NICU at the 2nd? If not there's probably a policy about when you can deliver (I delivered at a community hospital- if it had been prior to 35 wks we would have had to go to the hospital with the NICU) - you could plan for one but change if you go earlier. Does your doctor use both, or is that part of the decision as well?

diz1313 · June 2014

Both hospitals have a NICU, but if babies are I a really bad way they are shipped off to Fairfax as there's is the most state of the art and such. My doctor delivers at both. So I think it's all up to my brains.

basil2 · June 2014

If your doctor delivers at both can you plan on the one you want, but change if you deliver prior to 35 wks or there's a concern about the babies?

oughtonk · June 2014

I'm in a similar situation and we've already decided that pre-37 weeks I will be going to the hospital with the better NICU that has bad memories for me. I don't want to run the risk of having my babies at the one with a lesser NICU and them being transferred to the other knowing that I'll be stuck for a few days due to csection.

absolutelymaybe · June 2014

I would always choose the place with the better NICU when having multiples.

carrotcake06 · June 2014

Better NICU.

I found at around 15ish wks that the hospital where I planned to deliver, the one affiliated w a top 5 children's hospital, only has shared post partum rooms. I know this is common in some parts of the country, but I freaked. The thought of sharing a bathroom w someone immediately after giving birth skeeved me out.

So I looked into another hospital w a similar level NICU but not associated w the children's hospital. They had all provate post partum rooms.

I ended up not switching. I had my babies at 34w. It was a very traumatic birth but we're all here and safe and they were in excellent care in the NICU.

diz1313 · June 2014

I don't know much about ratings.... But Fairfax NICU is rated IV and Fair Oaks is rated III

TRS48 · June 2014

I would go with the higher level NICU, no questions. I was going to deliver at a nice, new, non-NICU hospital until I started having complications and I got put into the top rated NICU hospital in town for a week and I realized that was where we needed to deliver eventually. Luckily my babies are still cooking 10 weeks later but I had to change OB groups and such at 25 weeks, which was a pain, so if I had to do it all over again, I would pick the highest level NICU hospital & OB group that delivers there from day 1.

basil2 · June 2014

Waiting a little while makes sense.
You may want to ask your pediatrician what they think of the care at each hospital (the higher level means they can handle more specialized situations, it doesn't mean they of a better job with average situations- getting the pediatrician's opinion may be helpful).

emhfoley · June 2014

I live in the same area and delivered at Virginia Hospital Center. Their NICU is run by Childrens National in DC. I liked that VHC was smaller than Fairfax but had the same level facilities. My girls were in the NICU for 26 days. Not sure that's an option, but I really liked VHC.

loveblacklab · June 2014

I would go with the one with the better NICU.
With that said, if your doctor delivers at both hospitals, you can preregister at both and see when you end up delivering-obviously the earlier you deliver, I'd suggest going to the one with the better NICU. But if you make it to 36 weeks or so, either is probably fine.
I had to decide between 2 hospitals too, but both have the same level NICU. My doctor suggested preregistering at both, and if I delivered before 32 weeks to go to the one that was not my personal first choice. Now that I'm 33 weeks I'm
planning on delivering at the other hospital...

ktibbits1 · June 2014

I would speak with your doctor and pediatrician, but my vote would probably be better NICU

macchiatto · June 2014

basil2 said:

If your doctor delivers at both can you plan on the one you want, but change if you deliver prior to 35 wks or there's a concern about the babies?

This is basically what I did since i was in a similar situation with my OB having privileges at both hospitals. I ended up making it to my scheduled induction at 37w6d so I delivered at my preferred hospital and the boys had no NICU time.

diz1313 · June 2014

Thank you ladies for all of the advice. It seems the decision has been made for me. Apparently my OB can deliver at both hospitals but doesn't, so unless I want to go through the trouble of finding a new OB that I am comfortable with it works like I am stuck at Fairfax Hospital. It's got the higher level NICU, so there is that. I will just have to put the bad memories behind me and look forward to making some new ones.

AmandaFaith · June 2014

nobadwriting said:
I personally would pick the hospital with the better NICU. In my town we have a similar situation but the newer one doesn't have a NICU at all.

^^this exactly^^ I really wanted to opt for the newer, private hospital in my town, but decided against it once we found out we were having twins because the new one didn't have a NICU at all and the older one has one of the best NICU's in the state. I was extremely glad we made that decision when our twins decided to arrive at 25+0. Had we been at the other hospital, they likely wouldn't have even survived long enough to make it to the NICU across town.

Like you though, I too had bad memories and affiliations with the hospital with the better (in my case, only) NICU. I had a stillborn son there two years prior, and I was terrified that I would end up back in that same L&D room.

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