Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto vs California Pacific Medical Center in SF

I have only been to Stanford Hospital (3 deliveries, all C section) and yes, the private rooms are on a space available basis. For my first two deliveries, I was able to have a private room after 1/2 a day but they were incredibly full when I had my third child last year. I shared a room the whole time. The baby stays in the room the whole time too.

Hi, let me start by saying I have not given birth in either, I had both my kids at el camino hospital in mt. view (which is FABULOUS if you have that option) but there its the same, as you are not guaranteed a private room. And I had a "semi-private" with my first and a private with my second. So, the thing there is if you ASK as soon as you get there and it helps if you are not a first time mom, often times they give you priority especially because you will have kids in and out of the room. Hope this helps. Oh yeah and by the way I've never heard of anyone having to share their DELIVERY room at el camino just their recovery room.

I delivered my first and third child at El Camino Hospital in Mtn. View. I highly recommend it, if it's not too far for you.

I cannot say enough good things about Stanford - I was born there 25 years ago, and my child was born there 2 years ago. The level of care is far above and beyond anything you will experience at any other hospital - the doctors, nurses, and other medical staff are so highly qualified. I can tell you that, even though I was there having my first child, I was never nervous or scared for a single minute through the entire thing - everyone is so supportive, and seem to know exactly what you need and when you need it. They listen to YOU, and will do everything in their power to make sure that you have exactly what you need.
I was in a private room during my labor and delivery (and a BIG one at that - large enough for the entire crew of 8 that were there to witness the birth) but shared a room on the maternity floor after the birth of my child - in any hospital, you are never guarannteed a private room, especially when it comes to labor and delivery. There just arent enough beds at ANY hospital - I highly recommend Stanford as the best place to deliver your baby. I plan on having any future children there as well.

I haven't delivered at either, ( I had my daughter at Camino Hospital in Mt. View) but I have never heard of being GUARANTEED a private recovery room. I know they do the best they can giving you a private if one is available, but can't promise. Delivering at Camino Hospital was a wonderful experience with wonderful and qualified staff.

I have not delivered in either, however I used to work as an EMT and have extensive knowledge of both as well as every hospital from SF to San Jose. For L+D, I wouldn't recommend Stanford. It's a wonderful hospital but most of the mothers I knew who delivered there said it was "just alright" and not a great experience.

I would recommend El Camino. I've heard nothing but good things about them. Or if your willing to travel, Sequioa hospital in Redwood City has a wonderful birthing center as well as Peninsula Hospital in Burlingame. I delivered my daughter at Peninsula and was extremely happy with my stay. I had a a private room.

J.--

I gave birth at Stanford about 6 months ago and hope that no one ever has to go through my experience. I actually am a physician at Stanford and STILL had to pull a lot of strings to get a private room. Even after i finally did get a private room, they didn't have any beds or cots for my husband, so he wasn't able to stay with me. The post-delivery nurses were overall teriible, cold, and very unfriendly and unhelpful for a first time mom (couldn't get anyone to help me breast feed until I paged a lactation consultant myself). I stayed an extra day in the hospital, but wish I hadn't. I will say, though, that the L&D nurses (while you're actually having the baby) are absolutely fabulous.

I have friends that delivered at CPMC and rave about their experience. When I have another baby, I will NOT deliver at Stanford (and I work there!).

Hope that helps!
M.

Hi J.,

I gave birth to my son at CPMC. Overall we had a good experience. It was a pretty well-oiled machine and it seemed like just when I was thinking that I needed something, the nurses would magically appear and change my pad, offer me juice, ask if I wanted to nurse the baby, etc. The nurses were pretty responsive except for one, but we only dealt with her once. (There's always one stinker nurse at every hospital, of course.) Also, lactation consultants come around every morning and hold a "class" on how to get your baby latched on properly. They also have a nice store called "Newborn Connections" where you can find anything you need for your baby or you (like nursing bras--they will fit you.)

If I remember correctly, the hospital said it was pretty rare that you don't get your own room there. Even with another local hospital closing and a lot of those moms sent to CPMC at the time of my delivery, we still got our own room, which was fairly large. They are very supportive of "rooming in" and will provide a bed for your husband. Any time I called for help, the nurses came right away. Meals were actually decent (included Chinese food) and delivered to the room. The only thing I didn't like (besides the one grumpy nurse) was the drive into the City (although it's pretty smooth, and when you are on your first kid there's usually no rush to the hospital anyway), and the parking situation is kind of screwy. Your husband will have to park in the 20-minute parking, get you admitted, then move the car to the 8-story non-handicapped accessible parking garage with no elevator. Then he'll need to trek down 8 flights of stairs with anything else that you need from the car. If you haven't done so already, you can call to make an appointment to get a hospital tour and see how you feel once you get a look around.

I didn't deliver at Stanford, but my father was there for 4&1/2 months (was supposed to be 7-10 days) because he got a staph infection in his wound after they performed cancer surgery. I would never want to stay there because 1) I obviously am completely sick of that place and 2) I get the feeling that they have a high infection rate.

If you have the option, Mills-Peninsula in San Mateo is supposed to be the best. If we are still living in San Bruno when we have a second child, we are definitely going there instead. All the moms who have their kids at Mills-Peninsula rave about it. They also have an excellent breastfeeding support group every week downstairs if that's something you're interested in.

Good luck!