What are you looking for when choosing a hospital?

[pooh8402]

Help me do some work.

We're in the process of redesigning our hospital website, specifically the women and children's section. They asked me "as a new expectant mother" what I would be looking for, but it's hard to remove my nursey mind from the equation.

So if/when you do research, what are you looking for, like on the website? What would cause you to add a hospital to your short list and investigate further to see if you would like the hospital or not?

[krystee]

For me, I just went where my doctor was affiliated (they had two and I went with the one they recommended for me).

Aside from that, I would want one with a good NICU so my baby and I wouldn't be at different hospitals if something went wrong. Private rooms are a must. I liked that they offer lots of classes and support groups. If they have things like tubs or other nice amenities, I'd feature that too.

[achi]

Everything krystee said plus:

1. Low c-section rate
2. Mother-baby friendly (i.e. rooming in, skin-to-skin, etc.)
3. Good breastfeeding support system - classes, LCs on staff and available without appointment, etc.

[Kit]

Well my doctor is affiliated with the hospital I'll give birth at so I didn't have much of a choice there! But if I did, I think achi has a good list. I'd also like to add to the classes - more availability. They seem to fill up so fast!

[Susie]

I made my decision based entirely on feedback from friends + distance from home, so websites weren't part of the equation. There were only 2 that I seriously considered.

I guess if I did look at a website I'd like to see a virtual tour of the space. Tubs, private rooms, and showers are pluses.

[polarbearfans]

I didn't really look at any other hospital. My doctor only delivers at the one, and it was important that all my medical records could be accessed easily. While I wouldn't care about changing my obgyn because he plays such a small role in this pregnancy, I care about my medical records from my other doctors in the network being accessible, and I can only get that at the one hospital.

When I had some bleeding and sharp pains last week, I went to the hospital I would deliver at even though I drove by 5 others to get there... They were able to see all my ultrasounds and records, and the doctor reviewed all of that before the physical exam. They knew my health condition and medications without me having to give that history. Check in was just me giving my social security number and name.

Other hospitals are nicer in terms of amenities, but I need my medical team. I have too many doctors to try and coordinate with to switch hospitals.
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Features that I do like and would look for is that my husband can stay with me and the baby stays with us. There is a website that allows us to update family and friends, plus post pictures. I don't want people calling or visiting in the hospital, so I like that we can update people at our convenience.

[achi]

Also, I would like to be able to read reviews from people who actually delivered at the hospital. Both good and bad, not just the reviews that make the hospital look good. Although I suppose there are probably other websites for that.

[noodleoo]

Yeah, our options were limited based on our insurance, so I didn't really research online. But things that I'd appreciate would be:

* Ratio of nurses to patients (ours has one on one nursing, which I like)
* Lactation consultants on staff
* Nice rooms that don't look too clinical, more like a hotel room
* Private rooms
* Jacuzzi, birthing ball, other amenities for laboring
* Food for your suppport person (I found out hospital doesn't feed the spouse and that seems lame!)
* Place for support person to sleep (they have a really crappy cot for my H, that sucks too!)
* Info on support groups, breastfeeding groups, prenatal yoga, other classes offered

[spankswife]

Private rooms with a private bathroom (pictures of rooms would be nice)

NICU info, if relevant

Classes offered (CPR, bf, baby care, sibling class, daddy boot camp etc)

Visiting hours/policy

Baby "lo jac" policy/info/highlights (whatever can be safely publicized)

Lactation consultant info

[pinkpeony08]

Options for pain management other than medications- rooms with showers with hand held sprayers? Tub? birthing ball? Telemetry monitor to move around while in labor if there is a reason they want continuous monitoring? Would also be helpful to have some info on percentage of deliveries with epidurals, which in some ways indicates how med-free-birth-friendly the hospital is.

C-section rate

pictures of rooms- both delivery and recovery/mom-baby rooms

[dearprudence]

Oh I'm a good one for this. I worked backwards. When I moved to the area over 10 years ago I picked the hospital first, and then looked for a doctor with privileges there. Even though I wasn't married or planning on having children any time soon.

I picked my hospital because:
* It was a hospital specifically for "women and newborns." They don't do anything else.

* Breastfeeding services - the hospital offers classes, support groups, a 24 hour hotline, every nurse is a certified lactation consultant, there is a lactation boutique connected to the hospital.

* Level III NICU. Not that I was expecting things to go wrong, but it's nice to know that if anything did, we wouldn't have to go anywhere and my baby could get lifesaving treatment sooner. (Tangent - this is also why the C-section rates people look for drive me nuts. You know why hospitals have high c-section rates? It's not because they push them, it's because they have more high risk patients, more facilities for those high risk patients, and therefore perform more c-sections on those high risk patients. My hospital has the highest c-section rate in the county, but it's the only one with a Level III NICU. And I don't know a single person (myself included) who gave birth there and had a c-section. The doctors really work to avoid it.)

*Prenatal and postnatal classes (yoga, infant care, baby massage, etc.)

*Semi-private rooms (now they're all private, but they were semi-private 10 years ago!)

* Rooming in

Things I didn't think of back then, but I appreciated:
- the way they took care of DH (he got food, parking, a place to sleep, etc.)
- 2 hour "family only time" (no visitors for the first 2 hours to allow for skin-to-skin, initial nursing, and bonding with the parents)
- 24 hour room service (I didn't realize this was a thing till people on my BMB said they didn't get food if they delivered in the middle of the night)
- lots of birthing tools (balls, squat bars, etc.)

[pooh8402]

Apr 21, 2015 11:39:46 GMT -5 achi said:

Also, I would like to be able to read reviews from people who actually delivered at the hospital. Both good and bad, not just the reviews that make the hospital look good. Although I suppose there are probably other websites for that.

Healthgrades.com is a major website that does this.

[sierramist03]

I'm delivering at another system hospital than where I work because of the NICU and the doctor. They also have a separate "ER" just for OBs

[cilantro]

The hospital I will be delivering at is explicit on their website about having ample lactation support available FOR THOSE WHO CHOOSE IT. I EBFed my first until 6 months, and then with solids for a year, and I still am thrilled to see this as I've heard enough horror stories from friends who delivered at hospitals where they were given major guilt if they wanted to supplement. I even saved a picture of something my SIL had to sign off on before they would willingly give her formula which in essence said that her baby will be more likely to be fat forever, dumber and die of SIDS. I want to know I'm getting the support without the crazy.

[achi]

Apr 21, 2015 13:56:26 GMT -5 cilantro said:

The hospital I will be delivering at is explicit on their website about having ample lactation support available FOR THOSE WHO CHOOSE IT. I EBFed my first until 6 months, and then with solids for a year, and I still am thrilled to see this as I've heard enough horror stories from friends who delivered at hospitals where they were given major guilt if they wanted to supplement. I even saved a picture of something my SIL had to sign off on before they would willingly give her formula which in essence said that her baby will be more likely to be fat forever, dumber and die of SIDS. I want to know I'm getting the support without the crazy.

This is ridiculous. I'm personally pro-BF but ultimately pro-mom's choice. New moms have enough to worry about and should not be given this kind of guilt trip over feeding their baby. JFC.

[cilantro]

Apr 21, 2015 14:02:14 GMT -5 achi said:

Apr 21, 2015 13:56:26 GMT -5 cilantro said:

The hospital I will be delivering at is explicit on their website about having ample lactation support available FOR THOSE WHO CHOOSE IT. I EBFed my first until 6 months, and then with solids for a year, and I still am thrilled to see this as I've heard enough horror stories from friends who delivered at hospitals where they were given major guilt if they wanted to supplement. I even saved a picture of something my SIL had to sign off on before they would willingly give her formula which in essence said that her baby will be more likely to be fat forever, dumber and die of SIDS. I want to know I'm getting the support without the crazy.

This is ridiculous. I'm personally pro-BF but ultimately pro-mom's choice. New moms have enough to worry about and should not be given this kind of guilt trip over feeding their baby. JFC.

Hospitals are getting crazier and crazier with this stuff.  I called mine after her story to make sure pacifiers and nipple shields are available if wanted.  My SIL's hospital refused to give them.  Turns out this new place has nipple shields readily available but pacis are like, secret stuff you have to KNOW to ask for.  

[pooh8402]

Apr 21, 2015 13:56:26 GMT -5 cilantro said:

The hospital I will be delivering at is explicit on their website about having ample lactation support available FOR THOSE WHO CHOOSE IT. I EBFed my first until 6 months, and then with solids for a year, and I still am thrilled to see this as I've heard enough horror stories from friends who delivered at hospitals where they were given major guilt if they wanted to supplement. I even saved a picture of something my SIL had to sign off on before they would willingly give her formula which in essence said that her baby will be more likely to be fat forever, dumber and die of SIDS. I want to know I'm getting the support without the crazy.

Agree with achi, that is ridiculous.

There's a Texas Ten Step program that a hospital in my state has to follow if they want the "baby friendly" designation, and it bans formula (except for medical reasons) and pacifiers. I hate it. My hospital has said that they want to go for this designation, but the IBCLCs at my hospital don't care for it. They're firm believers in letting mothers have the choice.

[sparkythelawyer]

I simply went to the one my doctor practiced at. Here is what I liked about them:

The rooms were private

They had a lounge area stocked with snacks, etc for dads/families. (though this got raided pretty quick in the evenings, a nurse had to go forage for something for me after I delivered and I delivered at 1035pm)

They had affordable classes. The newborn class was two sessions and about $55

Good lactation support - the nurses were trained on breastfeeding support and they had LC's on hand at pretty much all times. Plus they had a LC support center. My nurse my second night really did a lot to help me get started, and the LC met with me at something like 11pm.

Even though they were certified "baby friendly" (which, don't get me started on how ragey that term makes me), they still had a night well baby nursery. They also sent me home with formula "in case I needed it" because she had lost a decent amount of weight in the hospital without me having to sign a damn thing. I liked that they were attentive, and I liked that they were competent professionals about breastfeeding without being psycho about it.

I did not like that they woke me up at 2am to say "Your baby is fussy, can we try a pacifier?" Holy crap people, just give her the paci. Don't wake me up for that!

I don't know that I needed a 24 hour cafeteria, but ours closed at like, 630. Keeping it open later, until like 8 or 9, even if it was just a limited menu, would have been nice.

[Koala]

Apr 21, 2015 10:56:51 GMT -5 krystee said:

For me, I just went where my doctor was affiliated (they had two and I went with the one they recommended for me).

Aside from that, I would want one with a good NICU so my baby and I wouldn't be at different hospitals if something went wrong. Private rooms are a must. I liked that they offer lots of classes and support groups. If they have things like tubs or other nice amenities, I'd feature that too.

This.

[fashionx]

I also picked my provider based on the hospital I wanted to deliver at.

I can PM you the link if you want, but the hospital I chose posts photos, bios and even sometimes a video intro for each of the providers that are affiliated with the hospital, which I love. The site also goes through the amenities such as birthing tubs/water births, special care nursery, postpartum services, breastfeeding support, etc. I was with another doctor and hospital but this one was not only closer to home but felt like a better fit to me, so it aided in my search for a new doctor/midwife.

[starburst604]

I just went where my doctor is affiliated as well and it's the system I've gotten all my medical treatment through. Some things I've liked about it aside from that - they sent me a welcome packet with a bunch of info, they have lots of birthing tools, I liked that it said they encourage skin to skin and that there are LC's available for those who choose to BF. They offer free classes to their patients for BFing, infant care, birthing, etc. The fact that they have a foot tunnel to Boston Children's Hospital should the baby need anything more intensive than they can provide doesn't hurt either!

It's kind of a hike from where I live - 30-40 mins without traffic so I'm curious to see if I like it so much that I'll deliver there again if we have another child.

[dojo]

I looked for good reviews from independent sites and hospital stats as compared to others close by. It turned out that the rooms for birthing /post natal stay we're nicer too and they have accommodation for DH too which we didn't have at our last hospital.

[preppy]

Private rooms, proximity to work and home, and availability of LC staffing.

[Blackout81]

Supportive of natural/unmedicated birth and VBACs, definitely private room (all the hospitals by me have been private rooms for years now), LC/BFing support. I'm clearly a specific demographic, though.

ETA - my 1st time I didn't have a choice, my OB only delivered at 1 hospital, but it was less than 5 minutes from where we were. My midwives deliver at 2, one is slightly closer than the other, but the farther one (25 mins away) is way more well know for VBAC success, so that's where I'll be going.

[meltoine]

Private rooms, partner accommodations, rooming in, "required" newborn procedures (there's a hospital here that "requires" you to send your baby to the nursery for a bath within 2 hours after birth. I would never birth there for that reason alone, and it would be nice to know ahead of time), hours of the cafeteria and the LCs (the hospital I delivered DS1 at had LCs, but only M-F 9-5. He was born late Friday night and we were discharged Sunday so I never saw an LC in the hospital, any other amenities like birthing balls, peanut balls, squat bars, birthing stools, tubs, showers, etc.

[hbomdiggity]

I never considered a different hospital.

And I live in a large city so there are assumably other options, but this is *the* woman's/l&d hospital. All private rooms + level 3 nicu = done.

[speyedr]

We only have one hospital that delivers babies where I live unfortunately, but that is changing in a year when my hospital opens a new facility with L&D.

The website for the hospital here has a virtual tour of the labor and post partum rooms which is cool, tells you about the services they offer (lactation consultants, about the nursery, birthing tubs in each room, etc).