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Old 10-06-2011, 07:45 AM
 
11 posts, read 67,327 times
Reputation: 13

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Hello,

I am in the process of selecting a hospital for my delivery. Current options I am considering are St Peter's, JFK and Robert Wood Johnson.

JFK is the closest to me and most of the OB in my area only deliver there but I am leaning towards St Peter's based on my research and my RE's recommendation. My RE's only concern with JFK is that if the pregnancy turns for the worse (based on my history and that this pregnancy is through IVF) and need special care, I will be referred over to someone at Robert Wood Johnson by my OB later down the road. With St Peter's I won't have to make a change in hospital and may not even need a new doctor.

That being said, couple of things that concern me with selecting St Peter's is 1) I would need to go to an OB about 25-30 mins away from my house since most of the OBs in my area are not affiliated with St Peter's (There are a few that I found but they have horrible reviews.) 2) I read someplace that you don't get private rooms in St Peter's and that you most probably end up sharing with someone. This I am willing to let go if it is for a couple days but if for some reason it is longer, I may not be up for it.

If any of you recently had given birth at any of the above hospitals, please share your experiences so that I have some idea of what to expect and consider that in my decision making.

Oh and if you guys have any recommendations regarding a good OB-GYN in Woodbridge, Edison, New Brunswick, and East Brunswick area, please share those as well.

Thanks
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Old 10-06-2011, 07:58 AM
 
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We live 5 minutes from JFK but St. Peters had a better reputation for high risk pregnancies so we went with St. Peters. Could not have been happier. We had a great experience there. Our first was born in Manhattan in a very nice private hospital but there is no comparison. NJ hospitals and doctors don't have the same reputation as those in Manhattan, but NJ service is way better, you don't have to pay extra for private rooms, and the doctors have more time to spend with you and give you the best care. For my wife's C section her OB had another doctor on hand for the surgery. In Manhattan only one doctor performed the surgery and it was obvious that they so busy they just can't give you the same amount of time. We have been to JFK on a few occasions and the facilities are nice but again, St. Peters is just better regarded for pregnancies.
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Old 10-06-2011, 08:34 AM
 
11 posts, read 67,327 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by artDDS View Post
We live 5 minutes from JFK but St. Peters had a better reputation for high risk pregnancies so we went with St. Peters. Could not have been happier. We had a great experience there.
That's good to know...how long ago was your second child born at St Peter's? Who did your wife use as her OB? Thanks
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Old 10-06-2011, 09:17 AM
 
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I will be delivering at St. Peters in December (my OBGYN is Brunswick Hills in East brunswick, and they are fabulous too for what its worth) and we just had our St. Peters Hospital tour this last weekend.

As for private rooms, they have 54 private post partum rooms, so the chances of you having to share with someone are VERY slim! They said it almost never happens, maybe once or twice a year during a full moon, and when it does they move you to a private one as soon as one becomes available.

Also, the NICU is the best in the area. I am not high risk or anything, but glad to know its right there and a transfer / loss of valuable time would not be necessary.

We were also REALLY impressed with just how nice it was! Seriously, the lobby and suites were nicer than some hotels we have stayed in!

If you are having trouble deciding, I would suggest taking tours of all 3. Best of luck!
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Old 10-06-2011, 10:19 AM
 
11 posts, read 67,327 times
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HeatherLynn822

That's a good idea, I will schedule something with the hospitals so I have a better feel for it.

It's good you mentioned Brunswick Hills. Not sure who you are seeing but I have short listed Dr Cherot as a possible OB GYN. I am still thinking about her because I see too many negative reviews for this practice in general. Although, her ratings are excellent. I read someplace that you have to see different doc every time to get a feel for them all and you get whoever is on call on delivery day. If that's true, it may not work for me. My RE's office works that way and the particular location I use has excellent doctors so that's not an issue but their main office is a different story and when I had to use it last month, I became stressed in an already stressful process.

How is the wait time in this office? Do they get back to you with the results in timely manner or do you need to track them down? How are they about calling you back and following up? Ease of Appointments?

Thanks
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Old 10-06-2011, 10:58 AM
 
861 posts, read 2,709,075 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whitepearl View Post
It's good you mentioned Brunswick Hills. Not sure who you are seeing but I have short listed Dr Cherot as a possible OB GYN. I am still thinking about her because I see too many negative reviews for this practice in general. Although, her ratings are excellent. I read someplace that you have to see different doc every time to get a feel for them all and you get whoever is on call on delivery day. If that's true, it may not work for me. My RE's office works that way and the particular location I use has excellent doctors so that's not an issue but their main office is a different story and when I had to use it last month, I became stressed in an already stressful process.
Yes Dr. Cherot is great! Dr. Johnson and Dr. Beim are my other favorites!
Yes, they do have a policy about seeing as many docs in the practive as possible for OB care so that no matter what, they day you deliver you will know your doctor.... BUT I do not BELIVE that practive applies to RE / high risk patients. I am sorry I do not know for sure, as that is not my situation, but I do remember reading something like that about them early on. And for routine GYN care you can just see who you want.

Quote:
Originally Posted by whitepearl View Post
How is the wait time in this office? Do they get back to you with the results in timely manner or do you need to track them down? How are they about calling you back and following up? Ease of Appointments?
Not going to lie, I never wait shorter than 20 minutes before an appointment, and have waited close to 40... but there was an *emergency* so I tried to keep things in perspective. I never have a problem scheduling an appointment though, even quickly, and their late appointments are such a blessing! I only had to take time off from work once, for the 20 week anatomy scan which they only do in the morning. Other than that all my appointments have been at 5pm or later, I think they are open til 8pm 3 days a week which is such a huge help. They also return phone calls quickly, and test results get uploaded to your "online portal" so you don't even need to call, just log in.
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Old 10-07-2011, 02:51 PM
 
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Avoid JFK! They are not the greatest of hospitals, especially for deliveries. The best in the area is St. Peter's, they have a great reputation for Labor and Delivery and their NICU is one of the best in the country. I used to work at St. Peter's and I had to leave because I got very sick but I know that the L&D area was always busy-everyday. Go with St. Peter's and best of luck to you with your new addition to the family.
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Old 10-07-2011, 08:43 PM
 
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An ultrasound tech at Robert Wood Johnson helped save my daughter's life by picking up something that is easily missed.

Although we didn't deliver at RWJ because of the issue, we were grateful for their professionalism and compassion.

As a post script to this: I'm not sure if it's officially law in NJ now, but when you deliver, please ask for a pulse ox test. It's a super-easy, non-invasive test that can detect congenital heart defects.
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Old 10-08-2011, 05:17 PM
 
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25-30 mins to visit an OB you are comfortable with is not bad, IMHO. I had similar drive time, and usually ended up waiting there for 20 mins as well. But I live close to St Peters and that is where I chose to deliver based on friends' recommendations. The L&D nurse was awesome, I had a room to myself, it was large and comfortable. I hope it doesn't happen to you, but our baby needed a Nicu stay. That was such a worrisome period but atleast we didn't have to go back and forth, the nicu was right there.
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Old 10-08-2011, 10:45 PM
 
Location: NJ
328 posts, read 1,045,477 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by whitepearl View Post
I read someplace that you have to see different doc every time to get a feel for them all and you get whoever is on call on delivery day. If that's true, it may not work for me. My RE's office works that way and the particular location I use has excellent doctors so that's not an issue but their main office is a different story and when I had to use it last month, I became stressed in an already stressful process.

How is the wait time in this office? Do they get back to you with the results in timely manner or do you need to track them down? How are they about calling you back and following up? Ease of Appointments?

Thanks
St Peter's is dominated by mega-practicing, unfortunately. Brunswick Hills has many doctors and you do have to rotate through the practice and you cannot pick who is on call the day you go.

I waited up to 2 hours in that office. To be fair, I lost a baby while I was with them and they gave me all the time I needed. I'm sure other women were waiting while the doctor was spending time with me. When I went to the hospital the next day for the baby I was losing, the back up doctor came in since the on call doctor was so busy with deliveries. In other words, I expected one doctor and got a different one in a very emotional situation. Looking back, it didn't really matter because either way I was dealing with a doctor that I hadn't met yet.

I never had a problem with appointments or getting a nurse to call me back during office hours. I did have doctors call me in a timely matter after I was home following the lost baby and having more complications but they were quick phone calls.

Don't ever have anything faxed to the office. They never seemed to get anything that was faxed to them.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SweepTheLeg View Post
As a post script to this: I'm not sure if it's officially law in NJ now, but when you deliver, please ask for a pulse ox test. It's a super-easy, non-invasive test that can detect congenital heart defects.
Are you sure you mean a pulse ox? A pulse ox is simply a little clip that goes on your finger or wraps around a baby's toe that gives the oxygen saturation. The ideal is 100%. If it's significantly less (especially under 95%), it may indicate respiratory issues but I'm not sure about heart defects.... Don't you need an ultra-sound for that? Unless you mean looking at the oxygen levels as an indication that the heart is not pumping properly so it's not delivering oxygen to the extremities....
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