Which Hospital to Deliver?

Tia-

Welcome to Atlanta - you will like it here.
Northside Hospital is the "Baby Factory" of Atl. and where you want to be. They deliver over 18,000 babies each year, I delivered there June 2007 and it was remarkable.

Dr. Steven Ayres is great - ###-###-####

Good luck
L.

Northside Hospital is the best place to deliver a baby ;) OB/GYN - Dr. Thomas Sharon is abfab. The practice is "OB/GYN of Atlanta" and they also have midwives as well as other dr.'s on staff who are wonderful. The practice is across the street from Northside Hospital. 404/252-1137

Good luck!

definatly north Side

I highly recommend delivering at Northside Hospital in Sandy Springs. This place is rated as one the best baby delivering hospitals in Southeast. Also, if you plan on breastfeeding, Northside has an awesome staff of 90 lactation specialists to assist you in the breastfeeding process.

If big hospitals arent your thing, I've heard lots of good things about Kennestone Hospital in Kennesaw. Their lactation staff is smaller than Northside's, but still very good.

If you find that you are still unsure about what hospital to use, try looking online for classes/tours taking place at local hospitals (this is how I was able to choose Northside over Kennestone).

Good luck!

I delivered with Dr. Mary Chappell at Kennestone Hospital and had a WONDERFUL experience.

Totally depends on your preferences. Do you want a more natural birth? Look up Labor of Love for the best childbirth classes and doulas. Some hospitals are very hard choices for Moms who want to deliver without an epidural or have a higher risk for medical interventions. C-section rates are sky rocketing and the risk for this is much lower if you do go the more natural route. There is a good practice out of Piedmont hospital with good midwives, and I love my group North Point OB/GYN with Margaret et al as midwives, and I've also heard that Dr. Tate at Crawford Long is like a midwife in OB's clothing. I might even switch to him next time. No, I do love Margaret. There's a great group called ICAN for women who want to have a VBAC and it has a lot of great info on there about dif. practices. Look it up in Yahoo groups. Let me know if you need more info. This is one of my favorite subjects.

I had mine at Kennestone in Marietta and had a great experience all around. I used a smaller group called North Cobb Woman's Health and loved Dr Dyar.

I had my last child at the emory hospital and it was an unforgettable experience in a awesome way!

I was due this past October 3!! I delivered at Kennestone Hospital in Marietta and had a great experience. My OB/GYN was amazing (OB/GYN Associates) and my Anesthesiologist did a great epidural. The nurses were helpful, patient, and explained everything is detail!! Since it was my first child, they taught me so much. And, their lactation people were educational and visited my room on 3 occasions. I have also called them numerous times with questions- they are always more than welcome to help out. My labor and post delivery room were very spacious! I had a great experience!

It depends on what you are looking for! For the lowest C-Section rate- look at Emory Hospital although you may find that your insurance may not cover as much of the stay. For the next best, Kennestone is wonderful (and i personally recommend). They are one of the few hospitals that can boast of a CNM (certified Nurse Midwife) within 1 block of the hospital- found at OB/GYN Associates. Wellstar Cobb has got the newest facilities and if you want the hospital with the most experience- look no further than Northside- They are nicknamed "the Babyfactory". They also have the highest C-section rate in the area according to Atl parent 2005 (I think that was the article date). Good luck!

I delivered at Crawford Long and LOVED it! The Emory Women's CLinic is the practice I used and they are awesome. They have a team of doctors and midwives. I used the midwives for the whole process, visits and delivery. Northside has the reputation for being the best place to deliver, and they are good, but you get a LOT more personal attention at Crawford Long and they aren't waiting to push you out the door for the next person to take your place. Best of luck!

We just delivered our first at Kennestone in Marietta and had a great experience. I go to Dr. Phillips at Kennestone OB/GYN and love that practice. Just depends on where in Atlanta you live. It seems that people either deliver at Kennestone or Northside.

I strongly suggest North Fulton Regional. I had a water birth there last year and am having another in April.
As for an OB/GYN or midwife, I suggest North Fulton OB/GYN.
The entire team is amazing!!! Others here have had the same experience.

I had my baby at North Fulton Regional Hospital in Roswell, GA. I go to North Pointe OB/GYN but see the midwives (Margaret, Kim, or Robin). They are all great. I was going to go to Northside but decided that North Fulton was best for me. They only have 6 birthing rooms plus they are more open to natural childbirth.

Northside Hosptal is the Best. I had a baby there in 2000 and it was the best experience.
*Do not go to Dekalb Medical Center in Decatur. I had my younget there in 2005. They didn't even take my baby's picture.

To echo another mom, where do you live? You should find a doctor that you trust AND who is convenient. As you know, it is amazing how many office visits you'll end up making -- especially in the end. If you live in town, Piedmont Hospital is fantastic. The nurses were knowledgeable and helpful, and I had a good anesthesiologist. I also found it helpful that my doctor was right next door to the hospital. She could pop over to the hospital to check in on me or make it back from the hospital to the office for appointments as well. If there was an emergency, I was just a few steps away from the hospital rather than a car-ride away. Good luck!

I delivered all 3 at Northside (5 year old and 3 1/2 year old twins). Northside is one of the top hospitals in the Nation, and is their NICU is ranked in the top 5 in the Nation. I love my OBGYN...he actually is the one who delivered Nancy Grace's twins (the anchor from CNN). His name is Dr Michael Echemendia. He came in on his day off to deliver my twins because we thought there might be complications (the first to come out was 4 lb 12 oz, and the second was 6 lb, so he wanted to make sure the second didn't have problems getting out...they usually want the biggest to come out first, sometimes you start closing up after the first...fortunately there were no problems, they came home from the hospital with me). I really credit him with the ease of that delivery. He did everything possible so that I could deliver them vaginally, but had an operating room ready in case I had to deliver the second by c-section. That whole staff is amazing, they have offices in Woodstock and Sandy Springs, and I think one in Alpharetta or Roswell (I've never been to that one). Dr Robbins is also great there, and if you want a female, I love Dr. Melissa Parker, she delivered my first child. Their website is www.awhg.yourmd.com. Phone is ###-###-####. I suggest setting up appointments to talk to some doctors first to get a feel for who you like. Also take the hospital tours, they're free and will give you and idea of what you want and don't want! Good luck!

I had my daughter at Kennestone Hospital (on October 3, by the way!) and it was a great experience. I was very concerned about getting started the right way with breastfeeding and I had a wonderful lactation consultant that was very patient and things worked out really well. The nurses were all very kind and helpful when we needed them. They also have several classes you can take before the baby is born if you're interested. I took two of them and they were really well done! Best of luck to you!

I agree! I'm having my baby in July by water birth @ North Fulton Regional. I've lived out of state for my first child so I haven't used this hospital before but I hear nothing but great things about the birthing centers here. I see the midwife's @ North Point OBGYN and they are great. Robin, Margaret & Kim are all wonderful. I highly recommend the practice. Good Luck!!

Hi,

Where do you live? That pretty much helps you decide where and with whom. I delivered my first in California (Glendale, CA) and moved to Georgia in April of 2006. My 2nd daughter was born at Kennestone Hospital. I live in Cherokee County (Holly Springs). I couldn't have asked for a better delivering practice than OB/GYN & Associates. You have your pick of anyone there (MDs or widwives) and they all ROCK! Their phone number is ###-###-####.

If you are closer to the city, there's Emory, Northside and North Fulton Regional Hospital.

Lots to pick from.

Good luck!

E.

I delivered my first at Northside and had an awful experiance as they were so over crowded and had no rooms and it was a horrible drive from Acworth...don't go into labor during rush hour!! I delivered my next two at Kennestone and loved it! The nurses were so great and helpful. I use Marietta OB-Gyn and Assoc. Dr. Tackitt is great!