Seeking Opinions on Dayton Area Hospitals

I have had all three (will be 4) kids at Kettering Hospital and I LOVED it there. The nurses were super nice, the area that the hopsital is in is great (not downtown!!)
The food was good, and the rooms were nice. I have to agree with the previous poster and if your at all high risk Miami Valley might be the way to go but Kettering too has a Level 3 for babies...I just prefer to go where I'm comfortable and that's Kettering!!!

I would pick MVH. They also have a birthing center called Family Beginnings. Kettering has a policy of taking your baby from you for 3 hours, so plan on fighting for the right to keep your baby with you after birth if you go there. I also highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend Dr. Horlacher at MVH, he's the best!

I delivered at 2 children at both hospitals.

MVH has wonderful nurses. Kettering has wonderful after delivery nurses.

I only had an epi with one child and it was at Kettering and it went off without a hitch. It was within 10 min of me asking for it.

Kettering does offer the water tubs but I think it's for before birth only. They also offer the balls and anything else you could think of to aid with the labor.

I truly felt the nurses at MVH listened to my wishes about nursing, whereas the nurses at Kettering were more interested in trying to convince me to bottle feed....this is a huge one as it happened not once but twice.

Both had nice rooms. Both encouraged rooming in. Kettering is a smaller hospital which makes you feel more like a person rather than a number. MVH had fantastic nursing support which was nice for my first born.

I would love to recommend Dr Dale Drollenger ###-###-####, he is wonderful!!! I've recommended him to several friends who've gone on to deliver with him again. We had a different doctor with our third (due to insurance) and paid out of pocket to deliver #4 with him. He has no partners so he is the doctor who delivers. He's great with multiples as well (delivered a friends trips).

I had my son at kettering aabout 3 years ago and loved it. The labor rooms were very good sized and home-y feeling. No jacuzzi tubs, but lots of other resourcecs. The recovery rooms where smaller, but room for a spouse. All the nurses I had were very nice and supportive. They have a lacation consultant on staff who was very helpful and I even went back to see her a few days after we left the hospital for more help for free. And if you're looking for a doctor, I highly reccomend Dr. Bruce Banais at Genesis OBGYN. He used to be only high risk and has alot of experience if anything went wrong. He's a laidback doc who likes to keep a smile on your face, but provides wonderful care and knows when to be serious. I've actually known him since I was a kid (family friend) and trust him wholly. He delivers at kettering, but i believe does have some privleges at other hospitals. I've heard good things about the valley too, but I loved kettering.

I would HIGHLY recommend Dr. Guy and the midwives (Margie McCarthy and Lisa Mix) who work at Family Beginnings. I was planning to go there, but couldn't because my baby was breech. Dr. Guy was very supportive of us and I gave birth to my daughter naturally (no c-section, no medication) though she was breech--it just had to be in normal labor & delivery at Miami Valley in case there were problems. We also had a wonderful doula (Amy Chavez, who I also HIGHLY recommend--she's also a massage therapist and has a plethora of experience and skills at helping women through pregnancy and birth and beyond--I can't say enough good things about Amy and Dr. Guy.) One of the nurses was really good, one really wasn't--I think she was more accustomed to women who were not interested in staying unmedicated, so she was really pushing medications. And she was very "coachy" telling me when/how to push, which I didn't need or appreciate. However, because I had prepared and was very well supported (by my husband and doula) I was able to do it as naturally as possible considering that I was hooked up to monitors, etc. (I wish there were more alternatives for women with breech babies or VBAC, but that's another story...if you want to read more about what's going on in Ohio with that, go to http://www.safebirthohio.org/)

The recovery rooms were small, but there was room for partners, and they do encourage rooming-in with the baby. They also have lactation consultants who check in, and offer support. The food was pretty good too--for hospital food. Overall I would recommend checking out Family Beginnings (several friends of mine had great experiences there) and Miami Valley. Perhaps go and take a tour of both. And please do consider Dr. Guy. He's truly wonderful. And you can see more about Amy Chavez's services at http://www.mamasource.com/business/13413956046058160129.

All the best,
R.

I had 2 of my babies at the valley and my last one at kettering, my dr only delivers at kettering, I absolutely loved it! The staff was great, seemed a little personable, plus they had a large roomn to visit with people coming to see you and baby after birth instead of cramming everyone into one little room. The food was a lot better, you got to order what you want and have the food delivered within 45 minutes.
The valley is a great option also. We are lucky to have such great hospitals here that you almost can't go wrong. The biggest advantage that the valley has, if your baby has any problems or complications they have a neonatal intensive care unit. Kett doesn't. If your baby has problems it could be taken to Children's.
I hope this helps! Goodluck!
K.

I am a Miami Valley Mom. I have had all 4 of my boys there. I have also had 4 c-sections and one of my sons ended up in the NICU. I have only had one bad experience there with one nurse (it was 9 years ago) but I had that taken care of the next morning with the charge nurse. I appreciated all the nurses there and the lactation consultants were wonderful. I visited with them after each of my boys were born and then even afterwards when I was at home. My husband had the opportunity to spend the night with me if he wanted - the chair stretches out to a bed. It was encouraged for the baby to room in - but they also want you to get some rest and will remind you that they nursery is there if you need it and they will bring baby in for feeding - At least they did to me, but like I said, I had 4 c-sections so it was a little harder for me to get in and out of bed to get the baby. They do have a menu order system and the food is good (I recommend the Belgin Waffle and Cinnimon Rolls).

I go to Dayton OB/GYN and if you choose to go there I would talk to Dr. Brent Imbody or Michael Thesing. The ladies on staff are good also (I believe there are 3 female doctors if you are more comfortable with a woman).

Best of luck with the new baby and the choosing of a dr and hospital.

I went to MVH with both of my pregnancies and will be again. I had good experiences with the nursing staff, but the kicker for me was that the NICU was at the hospital. If there is something wrong with the baby, I wanted to be at the same hospital he was. I had a friend that delivered at a another hosptial, but her baby had to be transferred to Children's b/c they didn't have a NICU. She was stuck at one place while her little one was at another.

The last I stats where that Kettering had the highest c-section rate. Also if your baby for any reason would have problems the baby would be sent to the valley and you would be at Kettering still. I love Dr. Horlacher and Wood and Dr. Guy. I also am starting to really like Dr. Bembry. Family Beginnings has huge jacuzzi tubs but you can not get a epidural then you would have to switch to a normal birthing room. Also Good Sam Birthing center has Jacuzzi tubs in almost every room. They are also really good. I know the Valley encourages you to room in with your baby. Your spouse also can stay.

A.,
I loved MVH - I felt the nurses really helped in every direction and I almost didn't want to come home! We were treated very well and our baby was never forced to leave the room! After reading the previous responses, it may seem you still have a huge choice on your hands, but I figured I would give my experience to you as well! I plan on having all my children (may we be blessed) at Miami Valley because I always felt very comfortable there! Hope This Helps! Also, like many have stated...they have an awesome menu for the mommies! I hear it is a seperate menu for the mommies than what the regular patients of MVH get! Not that food matters, but I had a C-Section so I was in there for 5 days afterwards and it was great knowing I could get good meals, good lactation consultants, and felt incredibly safe there!

Good Luck!