Saint Charles County Birthing Centers: Progress West or Barnes Jewish Saint Peters?

One of the many daunting choices a soon-to-be first-time parent faces is the choice of where to deliver their child. In Saint Charles County, Missouri there are two main choices where most of the area OBs deliver: Progress West Hospital in O'Fallon and Barnes Jewish Hospital Saint Peters. Both hospitals are part of BJC Healthcare, but offer a different environment in which to give birth to your bundle of joy.

Barnes Jewish St. Peters is an extremely large facility. Along with the standard emergency room (both adult and pediatric), surgery, and women/infant care, BJC also offers the Siteman Cancer Center. The BJC facility has been around since 1980 and is conveniently located right off of Highway 70 in Saint Peters, Missouri.

Progress West Hospital, on the other hand, is a smaller facility-though it is still expanding. It was built recently, opening its doors in 2007. It also provides an emergency room, some surgeries, and women's care. It is also conveniently located directly off of Highway 40/61 in O'Fallon, Missouri. Progress West is currently expanding to include more doctor's offices.

Both hospitals are affiliated with St. Louis Children's Hospital and have pediatricians on staff. As you consider your birth center options, it's important to know that both facilities offer a well trained staff, and both hospitals affiliation with the well-renowned St. Louis Children's Hospital is an important partnership.

In terms of the actual birthing center, there are many similarities. Both hospitals offer LDRP rooms (Labor, Delivery, Recovery, and Postpartum all in one room), a couch that pulls out for Dads or other overnight guests, and a friendly, dedicated nursing staff that will do their best to meet your needs. Both hospital birthing centers utilize important safety measures to keep your newborn safe, and allow you to have your infant with you in your room throughout your stay with the option of the nurses taking your child to the nursery for a few hours so you can get some sleep. Both birthing centers also are open to visitors all day long, with no limit, and the nurses are more than willing to be the "bad guy" and get rid of any unwanted visitors for you.

Despite their many similarities, there are some important differences to consider. Barnes Jewish is a bigger facility, which offers both pros and cons. On the pro side, they have more facilities, including a level 2 nursery. If you or your child should have some complications, many of those complications can be treated immediately on site. In terms of nice extras, Barnes Jewish has a whirlpool Jacuzzi in each room. The cons for this facility are also directly related to its size. Because it is bigger, it seems less personal at times. Though the staff is wonderful, they do have more on their plate. The rooms, though recently renovated, still don't feel as cozy as the website claims. It was also much louder at Barnes, including a maintenance staff in the hallway joking around for a long time, which was somewhat distracting.

Progress West is a much smaller facility. The staff was very attentive and friendly, just as the Barnes Jewish staff. The rooms were slightly more spacious and definitely felt more cozy. Due to being a newer building, Progress West offered more technology, such as the ability to watch videos about newborn care and order meals through their computer system touch screen within arms reach of your bed. It was also very quiet. Even when the room door was open, not many sounds were heard except the occasional baby crying. Being a smaller facility does have some drawbacks including not as many services (such as no gift shop).

In the end, both hospitals are great facilities. The choice comes down to what you want and feel more comfortable with. If you want a quiet, small setting that allows you to feel more isolated as you begin your family, Progress West is the hospital for you. If you prefer feeling more surrounded and supported with a wider range of facilities at your fingertips, Barnes Jewish is the better choice. Either way, you can't go wrong.

Sources Consulted:

Barnes Jewish Saint Peters Hospital Website: http://www.bjsph.org/
Progress West Hospital Website: progresswesthealthcare.org