Which Hospital Is Better.

Hello, I'm also due in September And my doctor only delivers at Memorial. This will be my second child. My first one I delivered at Nassua Babtist in Fernandina and I hated it. But I have asked around about Memorial and what I have heard Memorial is a really good hospital to deliver a baby at.And My doctor that I'm seeing is really good and she also tells me Memorial is really good. But it's really up to you on what makes you feel comfortable.

The best place to birth your baby is the Fruitful Vine Birth Center http://fruitfulvine.com/
next best, St. Luke's.

It really depends on what kind of birth you would like. If you want to call the shots with your body, baby and birth then the above is for you. If you want someone else to make all the decisions for you, choose one of the other hospitals or be prepared to fight.

Good Luck!
N.

Baptist downtown they are wonderful and very friendly and do not hope this on you but if anything goes wrong and your baby need medical care right then there is Wolfson right there and they are amazing and if anything like that happens and your at St. Vincents most likely they will send them to Wolfsons and your baby won't get immenditate care I had a friend whos child was born at St. Vincent and he had a heart defect that they did not notice till he was born and they had to send him to Wolfson like right away and I have heard and seen St Vincents staff be rude I have twin boys and one had breathing problems 3 days after birth and Baptists Wolfson childrens hospital was great with him and they staff made you feel comfortable and really focused on Dad as well(please whatever you do don't think I was saying something bad is going to happen all I'm saying in case there is a comfort that the care they need is right there) Goodluck to you

I like Baptist downtown, I work at the children's hospital there but mainly b/c the level 3 NICU is there. So, hopefully you would never need it but, if your baby did need intensive care, you would not be down the road in a different hospital. Hope this helps!

Hi,i had my daughter who is almost 9 at st vincents that was a wonderful hospital she had to stay in the hospital 2 weeks after she was born due to breathing issues but they was wonderful to me and her.I had my son at baptist in 2005 and they was also wonderful i could walk down and get my son whenever i wanted and send him back whenever i wanted.i can't complain about neither hospital.actually baptist and st vincents are sister hospitals so either is a good choice.i don't know much about memorial but what i do know its a good hospital to.if it was me i would choose the 1 closest to where you live.I know when i had both my daughter and son i just barely made it to the hospital so keep that in mind also.But if i had to choose again i think it would be between baptist and st vincents.good luck i hope this helps you in your decision.

I had my daughter at St Luke's, but my sister had her two at Baptist. They treated her like a princess; little snacks, baby not always rooming in when she needed rest etc.

I had both my girls at St. Vincents and both were scheduled c-sections due to medical reasons. Both of them were great experiences and all the staff were terrific. Being a brand new mom and not having any rest at the end of the pregnancy or being able to be comfortable, it was a blessing to be able to have my girls stay in the nursery so I could get some rest before going home where I got none for the next few months. St Luke's is a great hospital but your baby is left in the room with you all the time. They have no nursery and the rooms afterward are barely 8'x10'. My friend had both her kids there and she was miserable because she got no rest with the baby being in there 24/7. North Florida OB/GYN is an AWESOME practice, with many wonderful Dr's. I prefer Dr Long & Dr Laubscher out of all of them. They have 2 offices, one at St Vincent's and one on Dunn Ave. Dunn Ave is very easy to get into with little wait time. They do deliver at St Vincent's and Baptist downtown. I honestly do not like Baptist because of a baby switch that happened in my family 10 years ago. I'm sure security measures have improved since then but it was an experience that I would not want to happen to anyone and is just my own personal opinion. I'm sure the staff is great there.

I had my baby at St. Vincent's a year ago January and they were wonderful! She spent almost 48 hours in the NICU and every single nurse was wonderful, no matter if they were taking care of me, or her! It was a great experience and I didn't have even one complaint. By the way, I use North Florida OB/Gyn and you can pick from one of several OB's either male or female to be your doctor. You see them all in rotation while pregnant, b/c whoever's on call that day will deliver your baby, but they're all great.

Good luck,
K.

That all depends on what you mean by "better". It depends on what you want for your birth experience. If you would like the nurses and docs to tell you what to do and be a passive patient, then any hospital is "good". Baptist downtown has the most advanced NICU so if you are high risk, you might consider that the best.

Many of the hospitals still separate mothers and babies, which is bad practice in my opinion. St. Luke's is better than the rest when you consider this. You won't have to fight them to hold your baby and keep your baby with you (where it belongs).

That being said, if you are considering an unmedicated birth, Baptist downtown is probably the worst. St. Vincent's would be 2nd worst, followed closely by Memorial (hmm, maybe that's a tie). In my experience, the nurses prefer if you stay in bed, let them do their jobs, get an epidural, and be an "easy patient".
St. Luke's is the best if you would like support in what is sadly considered "alternative" birth choices. 3 of the nurses there have actually had out of hospital births and they are better at supporting moms who are educated about their options and know that they have a choice in how their care is handled.

I suggest finding a childbirth class that is NOT sponsered by one of the hospitals, so you can get some non-biased information and consider all of your options.

Better yet, take a tour of the local birth center to see the best place in town that normal birth is supported. check it out at www.fruitfulvine.com

Best of luck to you

S.
www.lotusinbloom.net