Hospital A vs. Hospital B.

We had pretty much already decided on a hospital. My OB is affiliated with a large urban teaching hospital, and we did the tour awhile back. We thought the facility seemed nice and we were happy with the amenities they provided. The staff there also seemed very friendly, and the hospital is pretty close to where we live.

Yesterday we toured another hospital in the city, but about twice as far from our house as hospital A. Several people had told us we should check out that facility because they think it is a lot nicer/better. Hospital B is definitely bigger and has a much larger labor and delivery ward, but as far as nicer? I don't think so. The rooms were way smaller, and they did not have some of the amenities of hospital A. For one, the rooms had a VCR with the TV, not a DVD player (hospital A had DVD players). Second, they don't have mini-fridges in the room, just a communal fridge down the hall for each floor (hospital A has mini-fridges in the birthing rooms and the postpartum rooms).

I know both of these things are insignifigant, and the tour guide even said that most laboring mom's do not want to be watching a tape or DVD. What if I do? We don't even own any VHS tapes anymore. As for the mini-fridge, it is kind of a big deal to me. I'm a picky eater and I'd like to be able to bring my own snacks/food. I don't want to have to place it in a communal fridge where I'm sure stuff gets left all the time. Also, we have a nice and expensive bottle of sparkling wine we bought to bring to the hospital to celebrate the baby's birth. I really don't want to have it chilling in a communal fridge where it could walk away...I'd rather it be in our room.

Another issue with hospital B was that their check in procedure entails being in their triage for 1-3 hours. During that time I'd be hooked up to the monitors and have a 1:1 nurse checking on me. After the 1-3 hours when they felt the labor was progressing, they would assign me to a birthing suite and I'd be given a different 1:1 nurse for the duration of the labor (unless a shift change were to occur). I like that hospital A will check me in and assign me to a birthing suite and nurse right away. Overall I thought the people seemed less friendly at hospital B.

The tour was good though because it did solidify our decision that we are making the right choice for us. If we had found something really compelling about hospital B, we would have had to switch to an OB that has delivery privledges at that hospital, and that would have been an additional hassle. We're glad that we're going with hospital A and we're satisfied with the medical care we're receiving from our OB.