Hospital Selection...Cross it off the list!

Our doctor's office will deliver at any of three different local hospitals: OSU Medical Center, Riverside Methodist, or Mount Carmel St. Ann's. When I asked about hospitals (I think it was in my very first doctor's visit), they recommended either Riverside or St. Ann's. Since Keith and I are new to the area and luckily haven't had a reason to visit any of these facilities, we decided that hospital tours specifically for expectant parents were in order.

We toured Riverside first. It is a very large hospital near downtown Columbus. I didn't quite know what to expect so I went in with a very open mind. It is a very nice hospital but nothing really struck us about it. The maternity ward felt somewhat integrated with the rest of the hospital which looking back wasn't too appealing. It offers a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care unit (which is good and means they can deal with almost any issue on sight). Plus they are affiliated with Children's Hospital in Columbus which is a first-rate hospital equipped to handle any kind of problem. The rooms were all private but very tiny and the "beds" for Keith looked extremely uncomfy. We did see a baby there that was literally only two hours old. She and her mother were being wheeled from their labor and delivery room to their postpartum room. But all in all this hospital was large and had lots of hustle and bustle...that was our overall perception.

Last week we toured St. Ann's. It is located in Westerville, Ohio, and is much smaller than Riverside. It has a Maternity "Pavillion" which is separate from the rest of the hopsital. The labor and delivery rooms are all private and enormous (especially the ones that have jacuzzi tubs in them for laboring). A funny father-to-be on our tour joked that the room was larger than their house! And the rooms just feel very homey. There are hardwood floors and all of the medical equipment is hidden away in wooden armoires, etc. They have CD players and they encourage you to bring music for your labor. The recovery/postpartum rooms are also private and large (although a bit smaller than the labor and delivery rooms). The beds for Keith looked much more comfortable; they are actually pull-out couches instead of just long seats that you take the back cushions off of. When we learned that they also have a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care unit and that the Tim Horton's in the lobby of the Maternity Pavillion is open 24/7, we were sold. St. Ann's seemed calmer, quieter, and more inviting to us overall.

Both hospitals had some other great features such as 24 hour on-staff anesthesia coverage, encouragement of skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth, and a generous visitation policy. Also, both hospitals are pretty much exactly 20 minutes from our house in opposite directions and have easy access off of the interstate. We did like that Riverside has wireless internet access throughout the entire hospital where as St. Ann's only has it in the waiting rooms and in the lobby. Keith will have to go send out photos and emails from the waiting room. I guess we'll deal with it :)

So we're happy to have that decision crossed off our list. As soon as we decided, we signed up for several classes which are all held at St. Ann's including a Labor & Birth class, a breastfeeding class, and a newborn care class. I am looking forward to those already!

Next big decision: choosing a pediatrician. Stay tuned!