Choosing Between IU Arnett & Franciscan Health East for the Birth of Your Baby?
Many first time parents or parents new to the Lafayette, Indiana community find themselves needing to decide between our two hospitals: IU Arnett, on McCarty Lane, or Franciscan Health East, located on Creasy. It’s actually a bit of a mystery to anyone who lives here why West Lafayette doesn’t have its own hospital or independent birthing center, but that’s another post for another day. Here are 3 key things to know as you decide where to deliver - please reach out to us with any questions!
1) Both Franciscan & IU Arnett have Level III accredited NICUs (Level 4 is the highest & those hospitals are in Indianapolis), meaning both hospitals are well equipped to handle many premies and babies born with critical illnesses.
2) IU Arnett is the only hospital in Lafayette with Certified Nurse Midwives on staff -these are not just nurses with extra certificates - they have completed intense graduate programs specifically in midwifery & are fully licensed for birth. Right now they’re more common in Europe than the United States, but they offer a wonderful opportunity for someone who wants a more natural birth still in a hospital setting. I talk about midwives more in this post on avoiding unnecessary c-sections.
3) At Franciscan, mothers give birth & recover in the same room. At IU Arnett, labor rooms are separate from postpartum recovery rooms. At IU, after the birth of your baby, you’ll rest for a couple of hours (usually) and then be moved to the postpartum room for the remainder of the stay. The L&D rooms are quite large, allowing for more freedom of movement in birth (and the use of a birthing pool, depending on your provider). The Franciscan rooms are a bit smaller & there is no room transfer. Some women prefer staying in one room the whole time; others prefer having more space to move about in birth and then a more cozy room for recovery.
Bethany & I have attended wonderful births at both hospitals & are always happy to chat with you further about which one is the right choice for your family! :)