Seeking Advice on a Good Hospital to Have My First Baby!

I had a great experience at RUSH. I heard Palos was a great place to deliver if you want close to home. Hope this helps!
S.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

I delivered at Loyola about 5 years ago and they took very good care of me. They (Loyola) now have a whole birthing center at Gottlieb and I have heard great things about it.

I delivered babies #2 & 3 at Edward in Naperville, and also received great care--however, Edward has pretty high c-section rates. Edward does have a very nice waiting area outside of L&D, as well as nice waiting room in their Mother-Baby unit.

I would start by researching to see which hospitals have the lowest c-section rates (although for an institution like Loyola, the c-section #s might be a bit higher, as they cater to high risk pregnancies.)

I have also heard some pretty good things about St.Joseph's in Joliet.

And yes, if you are an otherwise healthy woman, you might want to look into having a midwife deliver your baby. Not all hospitals have them, but some do. My mom had midwife-assisted hospital deliveries for all 5 of us kids. Personally, I wouldn't do a home-birth, but if I could have delivered vaginally I would have loved to have a midwife hospital or birthing center birth.

ETA: Here's a link to the most recent report showing all IL hospitals' stats. Find the hospital in question, and then # of c-sections divided by # of births to figure out the c-section rate for a particular hospital. http://www.idph.state.il.us/about/hfpb/pdf/2010%20Hospita...

More info about IL c-section rates can be found at: http://www.idph.state.il.us/about/hfpb/pdf/2010%20Hospita...

Do you have a doctor yet? I would start there, with where they are comfortable in assisting you.

Dear R.,

Congratulations! This is a super exciting time in your life!!! I would suggest that you research more than just hospitals. Consider birthing centers and also consider homebirth. If comfort for all of you is a priority than maybe birthing at home would be a great option. Homebirth is very safe with a licensed, trained birth attendant if you are a low-risk pregnancy.

If you haven't seen the documentary, "The Business of Being Born" please watch it with your partner and then start doing some reading. Birthing is not what it was in this country even 30 years ago and it is really ruled by concern over liability and not what is best for an individual mother and her baby. Most OBs do not practice evidence based medicine but do what is most convenient and has the least risk of being sued.

"What to Expect When You're Expecting" is not such a great birth book even though it is a top seller. I would recommend you start with The Thinking Women's Guide to a Better Birth. After reading that, sign up for a very extensive birth class - not one given by a hospital. Some classes you might consider: Bradley, Hypnobirthing, even Lamaze. If you want ideas for more books here are some additional ones:
http://www.gurulib.com/icansfl

If you would like to avoid a c-section, then contact your local ICAN chapter:
ICAN of Chicago
Chicago

Contact: Karen Troy
eMail Address: ____@____.com
Telephone: ###-###-####
Website: health.groups.yahoo.com/group/ICANofChicago/

Best wishes,
C.

PS I never considered anything other than hospital birth for my first child, read the What to Expect, only did the hospital class, didn't watch the documentary because that was for "birth nuts" and then had a major disaster that had been mostly caused by my ignorance.

All of the hospitals should offer tours of the OB/recovery unit. Go on a tour and then ask to meet some of the nurses if possible. Really, the nurses are the ones you will see and interact with the most. While you are there, ask the nurses what doctors they recommend. They will know the best ones! Also, I can't tell you the difference I had with my first 2 deliveries- the second delivery I switched to a doctor/midwife practice. The midwife was there through the whole labor and really made it an amazing experience and the doctor was there if I chose for him to deliver. I found them by asking a nurse who worked on Labor/Delivery. I hope you have a wonderful birth experience!

Congrats!!! (Sorry it's a long one! ...but I hope you'll find it's worth the read)

I definitely do think the hospital and its culture is important! Not all hospitals are the same in this regard. I would choose a hospital that shares your philosophy on labor, delivery, and post-partum care. For me it was important to have flexibility around visitation, as well as how many people I could allow into the room during my delivery-- for instance, I had my daughter's father, my mother, and my sister- no questions asked, no limit to two people only, etc. I also wanted a delivery room that has modern day amenities that enhance childbirth, i.e. a birthing ball, a shower with a seat for a laboring mom and room for two, and was comfortable with me walking around (within reason) during labor pains, etc.

I also wanted the postpartum nursing staff to truly understand the benefits and challenges of breastfeeding, recognize the misinformation and myths around breastfeeding (i.e., babies don't initially have as many wet diapers as formula fed, they lose more weight than formula fed AT FIRST, etc.), and promote breastfeeding (i.e., don't hand me a bunch of free formula samples and literature, etc.), while having a lactation consultant on staff that is readily accessible.

Finally, I looked for what types of childbirth classes the hospital offered to prepare me mentally, emotionally, and physically for child birth.

I delivered at Rush and had a WONDERFUL overall experience!!! My sister delivered at Northwestern and had an equally great experience.

As for the doctor, find out what doctors are in a given hospital practice and then choose the one that is a sound practitioner and with whom you share a similar philosophy on pre-natal, labor, childbirth, breastfeeding, and post-partum care. The medical practice I went with was NYE PARTNERS. They deliver at Rush and Northwestern. Dr. Nye delivered my daughter and in my opinion, had the medical expertise and strong judgement to save her life.

I know there are a lot of home birth advocates, and I do understand that the c-section rate is higher than it should be, but I also know hospitals are there for a reason and even with a low risk pregnancy, things can happen. The following info isn't meant to freak you out, but it is reality and demonstrates why a strong hospital/doctor/nurse team is so important!

For me personally, I thank God I chose a hospital birth. I was definitely deemed a low-risk, healthy pregnancy. When it came time to deliver, my active labor lasted 22 hours. During the long labor, the medical team never rushed to do a c-section because it was more convenient or less of a liability, despite there being concerns over the baby's unsteady heart rate. Instead, the AMAZING nurses and Dr. Nye monitored my labor and the baby's well-being SO closely because they recognized how important a natural child birth was to mom and baby and also because they recognized that a c-section is truly a major, invasive abdominal surgery and not to be taken lightly.

Nonetheless, after the medical team pulled out all the stops and the labor still failed to progress for no apparent reason, they knew when to call it quits for the health of both my baby and me. They utilized the medical monitors, other medical professional opinions, etc. and ultimately deemed it necessary to do an emergency c-section. Had they not followed my labor so meticulously and subsequently completed an emergency c-section when they did, my daughter would have become oxygen deprived and likely suffered from cerebral palsy or worse- I shudder to think of any of that. It came to be known that the cord was wrapped around her neck, arm, and leg but was not visible in images. I would not have had the same outcome in a home delivery, I can almost assure you that.

So, the moral of the story is:

-There is no shame in wanting a safe hospital delivery
-The hospital birthing culture is important
-The ENTIRE medical team is important (doctors, nurses, lactation consultant)

And, good luck, congrats, and God bless!!!!!!!!

The dr you choose generally will detemine what hospital you are sent to. Drs. have agreements with certain hospitals. If the hospital is of a bigger concern than the dr, I suppose you could ask the dr what hospital he is affiliated with before you choose him or her to be your OB.
There are websites that list reviews for drs and hospitals. You can put in your geographical area and look at the reviews near you.

I can not say enough great things about Elmhurst Hospital. We had both of our babies there. We got to keep the baby with us in the room the whole time. They give you the option if you would like them in the nursery. We had the baby in our room. I had the room all to myself and it was huge. Family was welcome to visit. They even let my husband sleep over in the recliner next to us. Nurses were wonderful! Even helped teach me how to help the baby latch on for nursing and everything.

If I were you I'd switch now to the Northwestern Memorial Women's group for an OB (mine is Dr. Timothy Garvey, who is AMAZING, but all of the docs in the group are fabulous and you can request a female OB if you want). . I have delivered 2 babies at NW Prentice hospital and wouldn't deliver anywhere else! The staff is amazing and the facility is gorgeous. You'll be so glad you picked it!!!

I had my first son at Prentice (before the new building was finished) and the staff was wonderful!! I had planned to have my second son at Prentice (in the new building that Ive heard is amazing!), but we moved to the burbs when I was around 20wks and after making the drive toward the city for a few more appointments, I realized it was probably a better idea for our situation to switch doctors and hospital to closer to our new home. We delivered him at Hinsdale Hospital and we had a great experience there as well, although the rooms are a little small. If youre near the city, I would definetly go to Prentice!

Metro South Hospital is great, (not such a lovely neighborhood). Your room is 100% private for your husband, baby and yourself! The staff there are all around amazing! Good luck! :)

I also would start with picking your Dr first. If you like them, I'm sure it won't matter what hospital you use. Congrats!

We delivered at Palos and loved it!! The nurses were great and made the experience with both kids the best! Good luck to you!

Hi R., I live in the Beverly neighborhood. We delivered our first at Northshore in Evanston and LOVED the hospital but needed to make a change this time around due to the distance. We thought about Little Company of Mary but for some reason I just didn't have a comfort level with it. We decided on Hinsdale Hospital as it's a great hospital and I've heard wonderful reviews. The drive from door to door is less than a half hour. Just a thought. Good luck to you! How exciting!