ER v. L&D

MrMrsandBaby · September 2014

Ok, I've been lurking on 3rd Tri (I should know better) and now I'm a lot confused about something. When someone mentions anything about going to the ER, just about every poster screams "Not ER, go to L&D!" Well, at my hospital you can't just go to L&D. You have to be admitted through the ER or general admitting. I wasn't aware that this wasn't commonplace.

So question - if you had a reason to go to the hospital that WASN"T active labor, what is the process your hospital has? For example, I have to call my OB, she will tell me if I should go in or not and if I do, I go in to the general admitting area if it is open but after hours I go to the ER. Actually, that is the case for labor too. With DD I went to the hospital after hours and had to go through the ER to be admitted.

Liss1481 · September 2014

I'm supposed to call my OB group, and then head to L&D if necessary. For labor, we head right to L&D as well.

ashie0610 · September 2014

We are supposed to go straight to L&D unless it is after hours, in which case I'd be admitted through the ER.

MrMrsandBaby · September 2014

That is so funny. My hospital has L&D on a closed floor and the only way to get in is to be admitted. We don't have the option of going there. L&D is on the same floor as post partum so you deliver basically across the hall from where the recovery rooms are.

windwithfingers · September 2014

We go straight to L&D too. My hospital has a weird procedure for after hours: they have a phone in the maternity wing and they have you call the nurses station. A nurse comes down to get you or tells security to let you in and you take the elevator up. The ER is in a different building.

lrobi13 · September 2014

I'm pretty sure the hospital I go to to have the baby doesn't have an "er" it is solely for birthing babies and other women specific surgeries. So I would have to go to "assessment" to be checked out. We are fancy like that.

Not sure about other hospitals in the area.

ariel06 · September 2014

During business hours, we call the OB office first and they tell us where to go. After hours, we call L&D and they tell us to come in or not.

TinyTRex321 · September 2014

We go to the ER and someone takes you up to L&D. It works better that way bc the ER has free valet parking for 24 hrs and last time I had to go to L&D a lot for bp issues before being admitted. Otherwise you have to park in the garage and the underground tunnel is a pretty decent walk.

MrMrsandBaby · September 2014

See, now I'm wondering why my hospital doesn't let us go straight to L&D! I swear sometimes I feel like my area is 10 years behind everyone else! I never thought twice when they told me to go to the ER with any pregnancy related stuff. I actually had to go once when I was pregnant with DD and I stayed in the ER...they never took me to L&D and I was there for like 8 hours of monitoring.

Leysin97 · September 2014

My OB office is in my hospital. We were told regardless of what is wrong (so even if I needed stitches) to go to L&D. It's actually in a different part of the hospital with its own entrance. This is because ER will just send us there anyways. Any pregnant woman is taken care of at L&D.

Aarg · September 2014

My practice has 2 different numbers: one for during office hours and one for after.
Women and Children have their own section of the hospital so they usually say call which ever number, then if they deem you necessary to go to the hospital, you always go to L&D first and if it's something they can do in triage, they take care of it in those rooms.

MrsL2B · September 2014

MrMrsandBaby said:

So question - if you had a reason to go to the hospital that WASN"T active labor, what is the process your hospital has? For example, I have to call my OB, she will tell me if I should go in or not and if I do, I go in to the general admitting area if it is open but after hours I go to the ER. Actually, that is the case for labor too. With DD I went to the hospital after hours and had to go through the ER to be admitted.

Yeah, I'm just going to turn this into an opportunity to rant about my crappy ER/L&D experience.

When I had extreme gastroparesis pain, vomiting, and dehydration in the middle of the night (around 22 weeks), I didn't bother calling my OB group, since I knew it wasn't labor or baby-related, and I went to the ER closest to my house, which is not the hospital where I will be giving birth. And I was pissed that after being admitted to the ER I was quickly whisked to L&D for two freaking house of monitoring (again, I knew it wasn't labor or baby-related) before they sent me back to the ER for any treatment. L&D wouldn't do anything other than hook me up to a fetal monitor and the machine and monitors your vitals, and they let me puke all over myself while I writhed in pain. On my discharge paperwork from L&D, they wrote that I was at a level 8 on the pain scale (not that anyone had bothered to ask me for a specific number) and my vitals were all rather low. But one of the L&D nurses made a snarky comment about how I seemed way too lethargic to be in so much pain. Well, yeah, lady. If your blood pressure was 78/56, you'd probably be feeling pretty damn lethargic, too.

The ER wasn't perfect, when I finally got back there, as they had no idea how to treat gastroparesis, but at least they gave me IV fluids and zofran and tried a few different painkillers. So I guess if I had to do it all over again, based on that craptacular experience, I'd try to find a hospital that didn't even have an L&D unit.

tabahi3803 · September 2014

E R 1st

bitsybubbles7 · September 2014

starla487 said:

ariel06 said:

During business hours, we call the OB office first and they tell us where to go. After hours, we call L&D and they tell us to come in or not.

Same for me.

Same here. But we have to "check in" at the er desk after hours to get into l&d.

jlz32185 · September 2014

During the day you can go straight to L&D after a phone call to your OB. You have to stop at the security desk in the main lobby to get an access card to maternity (it's a 24 hour locked unit). After hours when the entire hospital is on lock down (9p- 5a) you stop at the ER but only for access to maternity. They have a separate elevator from the ER that leads right upstairs. You can also use the ER entrance if your labor is progressing quickly or you are in too much pain to walk during business hours. They have a free valet so it would be a lot faster. The ER wouldn't do anything except give you a wheelchair ride upstairs.

MorganWP · September 2014

Like others, if its during business hours, I call my doctor and see what she wants me to do. But usually the ER isnt even mentioned unless its after 8. They close the main entrance doors and you have to go through the ER entrance. But you just go straight up to L&D, there's no checking in with the ER. The L&D nurses will admit you if you need to be.

savicke2009 · September 2014

Register in er and then straight to l&d.. so basically just stop there to get an armband and some labels.. you can call l&d ahead if time and let them know, and er will have papers waiting for you so you can grab them and head right up

erinchrisitne424 · September 2014

Office hours obviously you call the office, other wise I call the on-call doc and ask what they would like me to do. If they say to go to the hospital you go straight to L&D they emphasize not going to ER and wasting time there even if you need to be seen for something not pregnancy related because ER will end up calling down an OB/GYN anyway to approve any medication or treatment.

MrMrsandBaby · September 2014

I'm still amazed at how many of you have valet and pay for parking... :-)

MrMrsandBaby · September 2014

Sorry...should have told ya' I changed it!

Dani0329 · September 2014

I call my doctor and he makes L&D aware of my arrival. I still have to go in the ER entrance and be transported to L&D because it is a locked unit. It only took about 5 minutes when I had to go in, but a lot of steps.

Justabean3 · September 2014

Anytime I have gone to the "ER" and walk in they see I'm pregnant then they just wheel me straight to delivery.

I just walk in through the ER now and go straight there any time I have to go

BreandMikewedding · September 2014

We just go to the er. If we have a question on IF we should go then we call the on call dr. Otherwise we go to er and they treat you if you are under a certain number of weeks and if you are over that they transport you to l&d. I only had to go very early so I don't remember the cut off at my hospital. I also check in at the er for my scheduled c-section.

Liss1481 · September 2014

We have valet parking but it's free when you're in labor

CubanPinky · September 2014

Liss1481 said:

We have valet parking but it's free when you're in labor

dont u wish valet...no no..FREE valet parking was everywhere! ugh

MuffinMom14 · September 2014

MrMrsandBaby said:
See, now I'm wondering why my hospital doesn't let us go straight to L&D! I swear sometimes I feel like my area is 10 years behind everyone else! I never thought twice when they told me to go to the ER with any pregnancy related stuff. I actually had to go once when I was pregnant with DD and I stayed in the ER...they never took me to L&D and I was there for like 8 hours of monitoring.

Do you live in WV? If so, welcome to my hospital.

MorganWP · September 2014

Our hospital is in a residential area so if you park across the street it's free for two hours until 6 then its free all night until 9am. It's pretty nice.

MuffinMom14 · September 2014

I guess the jailspitol actually wins for having free parking?

MrMrsandBaby · September 2014

We have free parking too...I can't imagine paying!

Leysin97 · September 2014

We have free parking and complimentary valet if you chose. I haven't used the valet option yet (my doc office is in the hospital) but might when I actually go into labor.

aminalex · September 2014

So... My doc hasn't told us any of this (l&d v er, where to go, when to go)....

Considering their policy is they don't stop labor after 35 weeks and I'll be 35 next week, I should probably ask....

futuremrsnjoroge · September 2014

I think the ER is in a different building. That sees vaguely accurate. We have a Women's Pavilion that houses L&D. If it's baby-related, I'd go there. I wasn't told that... it's just kinda understood. It functions as its own fancy little entity.

BreandMikewedding · September 2014

starla487 said:

Liss1481 said:

We have valet parking but it's free when you're in labor

So not fair... L&D parking at my hospital is $2/HOUR, but they recommend getting a 5 day pass when it's time for $48. >.<</p>

Wtf?! They can't include that in the ridiculous amount they bill insurance for your delivery. They could just add it on right under the $40 pack of diapers they bill for.

Parking at our hospital is free. We don't have valet but we wouldn't use it if it were offered. I know they would want to go joy riding in my minivan and I just can't allow that. Lol

staryb · September 2014

ER for me. I'm supposed to call my OB and then they call ahead to the hospital. I get admitted through the ER and wheeled up to L&D, which is a locked area. They have a free lot that DH can park in across the street while I'm being admitted but then later he needs to move to the paid garage. If I have a scheduled csection or induction we would just park in the garage and go straight to triage I believe.

I'm jealous of all you ladies with free parking! I'll be staying in recovery for 2 days after delivery and the only day that's free is the day I'm checked out so we'll be paying for 2 days. It'll cost $30-$40. We paid $6 just to park for a 3 hour class we took yesterday.

jlz32185 · September 2014

The valet parking is only for the ER at my hospital. Once I get admitted H would have to move our car to the garage. I'm an employee so I only pay $1.50/ day in the garage or I could have him park in our free employee lot up the hill. Parking is $4/ day for everyone else. It's a mid sized suburban hospital so parking is pretty reasonable compared to the giant hospitals downtown.

Glas43 · September 2014

Mine is similar you, OP. Regular hours i go in through general enterence but can go staright up to L&D. If after hours go in through ER but they immediatly have a security guard who escorts you up to L&D as it is a locked unit.

Edit: words are hard!

ladolcevita25 · September 2014

I was told at mine that if they see a pregnant lady show up at the ER, they are wheeling her right up to L&D-they don't want us in their ER

Roseypants · September 2014

At this point in pregnancy, usually L&D is your best bet. I wouldn't feel comfortable just going to the ER side.

SusieBW · September 2014

Chiming in late - I'm also delivering at a women-only hospital, and there is no ER. "Triage" is the closest thing, and where you go when you're in labor. It's also where I went when I went in for a scheduled induction, so I guess they do most of their admitting through there. Depending on how far progressed you are when you get there, they might monitor you there while they take their sweet time checking you in, or they might whisk you upstairs to an L&D floor right away. One of my friends gave birth right there in Triage, it all happened so fast, and I'm sure that happens all the time too.

turtlewifey · September 2014

During the day, I can go in through any entrance and get to L&D. After hours, they admit through the ER. I think this is fairly common - a lot of hospitals lock their doors at night.

I don't think it matters where you go in. If you are in labor, any hospital will get you where you need to be.

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