Advice on where I should deliver (Raleigh, Durham: insurance, chapel, day care)

[proudmommie061612]

I moved to Durham 7 months ago and I'm expecting. I'm not sure on whether I should deliver at Duke or Duke Regional. With my first child I had complications after birth so that's a big concern. I heard Duke University was strict with visitors, is there any truth to that? I know being that I had complications with my first my family is going to want to be there. I just want to know other reviews on each hospital. Thanks!

[Sal_M]

I have not delivered at either but I have had complications post delivery and would prefer to be at the hospital that is best equipped to handle those complications. In addition, it would be my preference to be at a hospital that has a NICU - again just in case of complications. You should be able to contact both hospitals to get details on their visitation policies.

[NoneOfThis]

If you had complications with your first, I would say go with Duke. I don't remember visitor rules being onerous, but I do know they saved my babies and me both times. What they lack in personality, they make up for handling crisis situations. They've seen and done it all. In their sleep.

Durham Regional is great for general delivery. Much more low key, great, easy parking, small town hospital feel. They certainly have access to the big guns at Duke, if there's time for consultation.

Make sure your doctors are permitted to deliver at your hospital of choice, and best wishes for a safe delivery!

[LeftCoastEnvy]

I have delivered at Duke (and will deliver again at Duke in the next few weeks). No complications at all but the only thing I don't like about Duke is the more sterile feel. I never really knew which random doctor, nurse, or student was going to come into the room. They also had no option to send the baby to the nursery. I am hoping to get out in 24 hours this time. For me, I just delivered where my OB office delivered at and it worked out well since I work across the street. I can just walk over when I go into labor I don't think you can go wrong with either hospital unless you have a really high-risk pregnancy and need to deliver at Duke.

[Myghost]

I vote for Duke.

I've posted in the past that I am not a fan of their "day to day" healthcare, meaning that they tend to get caught up in beaurocratic minutia, but when the chips are down, where they really excel is as a trauma center. If you need emergency help, it's better to bet there.

My daughter was born during the ice/snow storm of 2000 (record storm) at Raleigh Community and had major complications. They got her to Duke, and I'm convinced she would not have lived if they didn't.

That being said, pay attention to LeftCoastEnvy's post. Being at Duke means that you need to monitor EVERY SINGLE PERSON that sees your newborn. I can't tell you how many times they tried to give wrong medicine or wrong dosages to my newborn daughter. how many times someone who didn't know the patient tried to make an errant decision for her.

As parents, you are the advocate. Duke is among the best trauma centers in the world. They are horrible at day to day care (hence trying to sterilize surgical tools with hydraulic fluid, and giving the wrong lung to a patient on the table due to administrative mix-ups.) You can control the day to day errors by being informed and involved, but you can not change circumstances that are unexpected, so my (long winded) vote is to deliver at Duke.

[chofmann79]

My daughter was delivered at Duke earlier this year. They didn't seem to care much about visitors with us...we had 3 visitors come and go at all hours, and the staff was very accommodating. They did offer to limit visitors for us if we were tired and wanted some rest, but they never told us that family wasn't allowed.

If I remember correctly, there is a difference between getting pain meds/epidurals at Duke vs. Duke Regional. At Duke, they can hook you up with a pump that allows you to self-administer (within reason)...while at Duke Regional they have to administer each dose in-person? I could be wrong here, but for some reason this stands out in my mind as a key difference between the two.

[Myghost]

One other consideration:

Check with your insurance. Duke is a pretty big organization. Sometimes your copay for a regular doctor (or even a benefit such as delivery) is coded differently at duke.

Example, my insurance fully pays for all bloodwork that is in network. Duke is in network. But one vile of blood drawn from my daughter, at Duke cost us $350.00 due to it being coded differently, and to 7 different codes. Couldn't fight it, but did learn to do my bloodwork elsewhere. Same with specialist visits. There is the $50 copay, but everything else they do is viewed as something different, and we end up paying 20% until our deductable is made.

Not trying to bash Duke, but it is a major hospital with a lot of red tape. These are important questions to ask up front, so that you can keep the focus of your delivery as it should be (and that is celebrating a new life and a wonderful experience).

Best of luck to you and your family! Do all the hard stuff now so you can enjoy this moment fully when it comes.

[nogard13]

My wife delivered at UNC. We have two neighbors who delivered one at Duke and one at UNC and they both (independently) recommended we look at UNC over Duke because they felt the experience was much better there. I don't know if UNC is an option for you, but it's worth looking into if it is.

[saturnfan]

Our daughter in law just delivered at UNC because the baby would need an operation immediately after birth. She had a planned Caesarean.

Care was top notch and the baby, Praise Jesus, did not have a permanent impairment. The NICU was great.

Only minor bad thing was the terrible parking system run by the university that charged her and my son $8 per day to sleep over at the hospital. With the cost of care at UNC, the patient should get validated. Even Wake Med does that.

A lady I met yesterday said Durham Regional had lousy care. She was sent home and told the baby had jaundice instead of just treating it after birth.

[mjohnson185]

I vote UNC. Worked there for several years and would trust their care over all others! The nursing staff is excellent. Most have graduated from UNC Chapel Hill and are very smart and highly motivated. In my opinion, your nurse will make or break your hospital experience.