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What's the best hospital in South Florida for giving birth?
My son’s birth is less than two weeks away, so this request for advice is, I’ll admit, a little late. But maybe not for all our readers.
We picked our hospital based on a number of factors,
not the least of which was the likelihood of getting a private room for my wife’s stay. Without a private room, the girls and I can’t stay the night. One hospital we checked couldn’t guarantee it, and was going to charge us extra if we were among the lucky few to get a private room. I’ll say that again: IF we were among the lucky few.
It would be one thing to save up for the private room if we could guarantee we’d get one when the time came, but the hospital actually advised us on how to rush out of the delivery room, down the hall, through the double doors, past Simon, Paula and Randy, up the stairs, around the kitchen and behind the laundry room to let them know we wanted a private room, IF one is available. And after all that, the answer could still be no!
Pardon me, but I’ll have other things on my mind in the minutes after my son’s birth. I can't follow the directions on a box of Lucky Charms. They expect me to remember how to get around that labyrinth in the minutes after my son is born?
We ended up scheduling the birth at a hospital where all the maternity rooms are private.
So here’s my question: What’s the best hospital in South Florida for giving birth? And by what standard? Privacy? Quality of care? Nursing staff? Security? Neonatal ICU? How do you judge?
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Comments
Go with the Miami Maternity Center. They offer private birthing rooms, each with its own birthing tub. They also offer the option of having a home birth.
Posted by: Karma Hall | January 26, 2009 9:48 AM
Never heard of the Miami Maternity Center, but if readers want more information, check out their site. It's http://www.miamibirth.com/
Posted by: Rafael | January 26, 2009 1:03 PM
A quick search on Google turns up this recent article in the Miami Herald. I haven't researched it myself, but anyone looking to have a baby at Miami Maternity Center is going to want to see how this situation is resolved.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami-dade/story/835601.html
Posted by: Rafael | January 26, 2009 1:12 PM
West Boca Medical Center is by far one of the best.
Private birthing rooms, friendly and helpful staff and doctors.
Posted by: Heather | January 26, 2009 2:07 PM
I did a water birth at Miami Maternity Center (off I-95 at NW 119th) and if you are open to a natural birth, I give this place my highest recommendation.
I delivered my son there after maybe 5-6 hours of labor in a hot tub, no drugs, no cutting or tearing, and he scored a 10 on his APGAR right after birth. He was 8 pounds, 5 ounces.
We went home after 4 hours, no laying around in a hospital for days with tubes in your arms and all that. It was great. And I was 38 when I delivered, so I was considered a high-risk labor. But we had no problems whatsoever. I loved it.
Posted by: Jen | January 26, 2009 2:10 PM
PLEASE, with a scheduled C-Section, don't even consider Miami Maternity Center.
Posted by: caroline | January 27, 2009 12:18 PM
Well, I'm not looking to make a last-minute switch here. We're going with Memorial West in Pembroke Pines. But I was interested in seeing what other people thought. I haven't been able to find a ranking of "Best Maternity Hospitals" for South Florida. If such a list exists, I'd love to see it. If it doesn't, I'd love for people to suggest which hospitals should be on it.
Posted by: Rafael | January 27, 2009 1:43 PM