Hellobee Boards

I think it would depend on the situation! Hopefully you never have to make the decision!

This has happened to me (not with the baby, with the husband). In this instance, he was having a seizure due to his blood sugar being dangerously low, and it was more prudent to call 911. They got there very quickly, and he got help much more quickly than he would have had I tried to drive him to the hospital.

For me, it depends on the severity. For a broken limb, very bad cut, or heaven forbid, a grave wound, I would call an ambulance. If it's a fever or rash, I would take the person to the ER myself.

Rule of thumb for me...if kiddo is unresponsive or color is bad (gray/blue, very pale) or has a severe injury (unstable break, profuse bleeding -- not stopping or I can't apply pressure and drive the car), I'm calling 911.

@Adira: At the time, we lived about a 15 minute drive to the closest hospital. Now there are two hospitals down the street which is a five minute drive. I'd still probably call the ambulance, the fire station is much closer than the hospital.

@avivoca: For something like what you described, I'd have to call 911 - no way am I going to be able to manhandle Hubs into the car while he's having a seizure!!

@ShootingStar: I think it depends! We've gone the the ER a handful of times, and twice now, they've taken one look at Xander and immediately brought him back to get treatment without even checking him in first! This last time we were there, I walked in holding Xander and a nurse was bringing a patient back and as soon as she saw us, she turned to her patient and said "Wait right here, I need to take him back first!" and ushered us to be seen. We had JUST walked in the door! So they definitely DO take you seriously if you look like you need it!

@Adira: Maybe it was just our hospital, or maybe because it wasn't the baby. The times I've had to go to the ER (once was after a car accident) it took forever and wasn't taken seriously since I didn't arrive by ambulance. And a few months ago I had to take DH because he was throwing up incessantly and they just couldn't give him the time of day for hours. Finally when he threw up in the waiting room they at least gave him zofran.

The closest fire station is housed right outside our subdivision. They are closer than the nearest ER. So that's how I'd make that call

I think it would depend on the severity of the issue. Something that isn’t likely to drastically worsen in the 20 minutes it will take me to the hospital; I’ll drive to the ER. Something that needs the attention of a medical professional immediately; I’ll call 911.

I don’t really think of them as interchangeable methods of transport to a hospital. One comes with trained medical professionals, one comes with just me driving my car. Appropriate for different situations.

@Adira: The one time we've taken E to the ER we were seen immediately too (like, they didn't even take our info, check us in, etc.). That has *never* happened to me when I've done to the ER myself, no matter how sick I was. I think (rightly) they react differently to babies/toddlers coming in.

Depends on the situation!

When Chloe was 3 months old she had shallow, rapid breathing and a temp we couldn't get under control. We called the ped first to find out which hospital to go to, then took her to childrens. Furthest hospital, but best equipped.

Later that night, after discharge, she had a febrile seizure at home. I sure as hell called 911! An ambulance took her back to children's.

We live walking distance to the children's hospital, yet when we took our Baby Safe class they said we should still call 911 since response times are so good in this area.

If it's something that requires treatment on the way (severe injury, not breathing, choking, etc...) I would call 911. They can intubate, give IV drugs, deliver oxygen, do basic life support, things like that. If it's something like a fever or a bump on the head, I'd likely drive her.

I have no idea if I would be calm enough to drive...knowing me, it wouldn't be a good thing. If my husband were with me, it would be one thing, but me, alone in the car with my sick kid, bad news.

We'd drive to the ER more than likely but we are extremely rural and could definitely get to the hospital quicker than an ambulance could make it to our house and then to the er. We were actually told 'off the record' at our baby CPR class to do this.

If it were a fall where I was concerned about stabilizing her neck or something, or if she wasn't breathing and needed intubation, I'd call 911. In almost any other case, I'd drive to the ER.

To be perfectly honest (and I'm really sorry if I offend anyone) I don't have a lot of faith in EMT's.
My best friend is an EMT, my father-in-law, my uncle, and my cousin.
The amount of training they needed to become EMT's was really minimal. They consistently give me outdated advice or say things that I KNOW aren't medically sound. Paramedics may be a different story, but EMT's I really don't think could handle an issue better than I could myself.

I especially am appalled by what EMT's know about emergency birth. My OBGYN friend told me that if I gave birth on the side of the road or in my bathroom at home, DON'T call an ambulance because I'd be better off without them. I've also seen this demonstrated right in front of me with doula babies who came quickly.
They are trained to immediately clamp cords which is the worse possible thing you can do in an emergency birth (especially for a baby who is having breathing issues), etc. The thing that makes me want to scream is when they use a dirty shoelace to tie off a cord... that carries a high risk of infection when leaving the cord alone would be so much safer anyway.