Mothering Forum banner

Henry Ford West Bloomfield CNMs?

10K views 32 replies 11 participants last post by  merebella 
#1 ·
#3 ·
Carrin, I'm sorry to say that I haven't done enough research on the midwives over there. I keep thinking that I'd love to go over and see the unit. I really should call the practice and see who is working there and what their histories are...then I'll have a birth or a kid with pneumonia, and I forget.
 
#6 ·
Carrin,

I am actually seeing Lynn Rife. She sees patients out of Canton and Plymouth as well and delivers at HFWB.

Janice (Jan) McIntosh - HFWBH
Jennifer Schuman - HFWBH
Lynn Rife - HFMC - Canton (also Plymouth I know for sure)
Patricia (Trish) Scane - HFMC - Troy

I so desperately want a tour. But, that place is nearly as tight as a drum. They only do tours on Sunday from 2-3 and not every Sunday. The soonest I could schedule us was June 10 and I called weeks ago! I am going to try just stopping in as I have heard that sometimes if they have enough staff, they will show you around.

So far, I am happy with Lynn. I do get the sense that they are a bit *freer* than most other hospital midwives. For example, I am going for (hopefully) another VBAC. As opposed to St. Joe Ypsi, there is no mandatory internal monitoring and they will use pitocin to try and get labor going to avoid the section.

I know of at least one person who birthed with Jan and she loved her.

So, who knows.... If you need any numbers, let me know.

Kelly
 
#7 ·
What do you think of Lynn Rife as a midwife--for a normal, low-risk birth?

does anyone have any experience with her? it it reasonable to expect that she wont require constant monitoring or a hep lock? that i will be able to labor how i would like to? that i will be able to eat and drink in labor? that i wont need vaginal exams during labor?
 
#8 ·
For a normal low risk birth, I would guess that you will have no problem.

For me, a repeat VBAC with a history of hemmorage after my last birth. She has said that I will need a heplock. no internal monitoring but I will need somewhat frequent intermittent monitoring even if just by doppler. Although, I get the feeling that Lynn tells you the worst case and then kinds winks at you, if you know what I mean....

But, time will tell, and I don't deliver till late Oct/early Nov.

I do get the impression that Jan McIntosh is the easiest going but, since they all work together and share call, then there is no telling who will actual be on when you deliver. I will get the chance to see all the midwives in the course of my prenatals. They do all have birth center experience and I think Jan even has done homebirths in the past (but don't quote me on that)

I think that even though the midwives may want to be really low risk, sometimes, their hands are tied by hospital policy. This is one of the major downsides of a midwife attended HOSPITAL birth......
 
#9 ·
I am seeing Trish and plan to deliver our baby at HFWBH in July. I have met Jan McIntosh and was really impressed with her. I haven't met the other two midwives, which makes me a bit nervous, but expect they will share philosophies.

I know that at Henry Ford West Bloomfield you are not required constant monitoring even with a VBAC, you can labor and deliver wherever you want (except the tub), you can refuse vaginal exams (I heard through my doula as the last mama she worked with at HFWBH refused vaginal exams, at least in triage), and you can eat and drink during labor. All of this I have discussed with Trish (except the info I got from my doula), so I expect that the other midwives in the practice would follow the same.

I have also been impressed with other hospital policies. They support keeping mother and baby together at all times. If baby is fine, they will do the check-up while s/he's on your chest, and you can give the first bath yourself. He never has to leave your side, at least that's what I've been promised. They don't even have a nursery for well babies, only an ICU, and the ICU is all private rooms where the mother stays with the baby. I got the sense that the hospital is pro natural birth and evidence-based medicine.

We toured the hospital in March and liked the facility. They have large tubs in all the bathrooms for laboring, although they will not allow water births yet it seems that they hope to in the future. I also have heard if you just stop in someone may be able to show you around.

They host "baby showers" for expecting families every couple of months where you can meet all the midwives (and OBs) in the practice and tour the hospital. We are going to one in May to meet with the midwives and get to know them/go over our birth plan.
 
#11 ·
Emerson mama - Yes, I heard the same things about the hospital. You can ask to see the other m/ws for a prenatal visit. Their medical record system allows any m/w / OB to pull up your record no matter what office you are in.
 
#12 ·
Hi. I'm so happy I found this thread. I'm due in September with twins and will deliver at the new HFWBH. I love my OB but I am considering contacting Janice McIntosh. I'm also going to the 'Baby Shower' next week as I was told the next one was not until August and I'm not going to risk waiting that long to view the place.

I really don't want to have a C-section and my OB is really supportive and open to my birth plan. My concern is that if he is not there the day I deliver it may go out the window. He is allowing my Reiki teacher/massage therapist to be with me as much as I want during delivery and is actually pushing vaginal delivery.

So, based on your understanding, you don't work with just one midwife at HFHS?

I had an U/S yesterday and stopped up to get information on the midwives. They have a flier for Jan that states:
She received her undergraduate degree (in Nursing) from WSU adn a Master's Degree from the U of M as a CNM. She has extensive experience in high risk OB but specializes in normal (low-risk) obstetrics especially in helping a woman to achieve the birth she wants, whatever that may be.

The woman at the front desk told me that Janice and Jennifer Schuman practice at WB. However, a brochure also lists Lynn Rife and Patricia Scane. She said Janice works more closely with the docs and Jennifer is more self-governing/independent. I'm not sure what that means because having worked at Henry Ford for over 8 years in the past, I can't imagine they would allow drastic differences in practice philosophy but what can I say, my OB walks to his own drum and is very supportive of my Alternative Medicine lifestyle. I'm going to call and see if I can touch base with Janice before my next OB appointment.

Another great thing is that I have major food allergies (gluten, casein) and they have a GF menu and actually at my intake noted these items at allergies.

Would love your thoughts.
Best,
Shelley
 
#13 ·
I delivered my son with Jan at HFWB in April. The hospital had only been open for about 3 weeks when I delivered, but I could not have asked for a better experience. Trish Scane was my primary midwife, when she was at Metro Partners and delivering at Providence. When she switched to Henry Ford, my husband and I went back and forth but ultimately decided to switch with her. I started seeing Jan at my prenatal appointments because Trish wasn't "in the system" yet, and ended up delivering with Jan as well. I was VERY SERIOUS about a med-free vaginal delivery. I ended up having some complications but Jan and my doula worked together to help me have the birth that I wanted to the extent it was possible - and after pushing for almost four hours, I did end up delivering my son vaginally, with no pain medications (I did have sterile water papule injections for my back labor but they didn't help :p). The nurses were amazing - didn't bother me, very gentle, very considerate and caring. I had a small emotional breakdown one night because of my stupid IV and my nurse sat with me, delaying her own meal, until I could calm down. Gayle, the lactation consultant, was amazing (only drawback is, she is the only one and does not work every day - but she is fantastic!!). My son had to go to the special care nursery (it's not officially a NICU yet) because of my complications and the nurses down there were amazing as well - explained everything to us in detail, let us hold our son while he received his antibiotics, were very gentle and very attentive. The food is AMAZING and you order room service instead of filling out a menu the night before. I recommend the flourless chocolate cake and the strawberry-banana smoothie. The turkey sandwich is also delicious. Actually, I honestly liked every meal I had there!!


If anyone has any specific questions about Jan, Jen, Lynn or Trish, or the hospital, please feel free to contact me! I have had wonderful experiences with all four midwives:

Trish - started out as my primary midwife. Very gentle, thorough, compassionate. Called me after my son was born just to check in with me.

Jan - amazing. I do not think she has homebirth experience- but she was a nurse at the ABC at Providence for about 20 years before getting her CNM, and then she joined Henry Ford and worked downtown for about 8 years until switching to West Bloomfield. Experienced, attentive, thorough, will work with you, very hands-on during my delivery (in a way I think an OB wouldn't be, I mean). She was honest with me throughout, trusted me and my body and I honestly think I would have ended up with a c-section if I had an OB instead of Jan. I cannot speak highly enough of her.

Jen - also a massage therapist, I was having TMJ issues during my pregnancy, and when I called Jan to discuss, Jen happened to be standing there and suggested I get a cranio-sacral massage. I had a cranio-sacral chiropractic adjustment that day and didn't have TMJ issues the rest of my pregnancy. Jen saved my sanity that day - and in my opinion, possibly my life or baby's life because I hadn't been able to eat anything in three days before that adjustment!

Lynn - my second night in the hospital was the first night I was able to nurse. My doula and I couldn't get my son to latch on my right side - Lynn came in to check on me and she got him to latch right on! She stayed in our room with us for about an hour, discussing baby-care, our post-hospital plans, etc. I would say in my experience she is the most, um, blunt and direct of the four midwives, which I could see being an issue for some more, um, sensitive moms - but I was very grateful for her help and she did give my husband and I some things to think about during our talk.

Honestly I cannot speak highly enough of the midwives or Henry Ford West Bloomfield. I definitely plan to continue seeing the midwives for my annuals and plan to deliver with them at HFWB again if I am lucky enough to get pregnant a second time when we start trying in a year or so.
 
#15 ·
To those of you planning to deliver at HFWB. Have any of you heard of them redirecting women to other hospitals due to being full on the LDRP floor? On another board that I'm on, someone posted this info and I am trying to get a confirmation. I would love to deliver my next baby at HFWB, but with only 15 LDRP rooms, I am worried about them being full on my delivery date and having to be redirected to another hospital. I don't see why they can't just put moms in regular rooms if they do fill up, this is what most hospitals do. If anyone as an answer to this question/concern, please post. TIA!

On another note, I wonder why they only made 15 LDRP rooms in the first place. Everybody is having a baby nowadays!
 
#17 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by organic-mama View Post
To those of you planning to deliver at HFWB. Have any of you heard of them redirecting women to other hospitals due to being full on the LDRP floor? On another board that I'm on, someone posted this info and I am trying to get a confirmation. I would love to deliver my next baby at HFWB, but with only 15 LDRP rooms, I am worried about them being full on my delivery date and having to be redirected to another hospital. I don't see why they can't just put moms in regular rooms if they do fill up, this is what most hospitals do. If anyone as an answer to this question/concern, please post. TIA!

On another note, I wonder why they only made 15 LDRP rooms in the first place. Everybody is having a baby nowadays!
If this is true, it is quite disturbing. I can't quite figure out why the only have 15 LDRP rooms either. I'm going to the 'shower' tomorrow so I will be sure to ask and post what I find. I have also made an appointment with Jan for May 27th. Thank you to everyone for posting your experiences!
 
#18 ·
That is not true - they have overflow rooms on the very same floor, across from the waiting area. I am sure someday they may have an issue but thus far they have not - when I was there, there were only three or four other moms there, and I was the only one who delivered that night. Don't forget - to deliver at HFWB you must have a Henry Ford practitioner - lots of women won't switch doctors/midwives just to deliver there.
 
#19 ·
Had my appt with Lynn today. The wait was insane, especially with 2 kids with me but that is beside the point...

Anyway, she said that yes, they have had to move patients, however, they do not move the laboring moms. Rather, the pp moms are moved to overflow rooms on the same floor with trained mom/baby nurses. She said they move the ones closest to leaving. However, she has said that to her knowledge this has only happened 2x. She said they are averaging 7-8 a day and can accomodate up to 15 moms. She said the first time it happened, it was really crazy. They started the day with 5 moms laboring and ended up delivering 17 babies. They created 15 rooms based on 800-1000 births per year. Problem is no hospital can predict any one given day.

Oh, and I asked her how many csections the midwives have had to do so far. Only 1
and it was for a VBAC hopeful mom with another breech baby.

That's all I know!
 
#20 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by kolszewski View Post
Had my appt with Lynn today. The wait was insane, especially with 2 kids with me but that is beside the point...

Anyway, she said that yes, they have had to move patients, however, they do not move the laboring moms. Rather, the pp moms are moved to overflow rooms on the same floor with trained mom/baby nurses. She said they move the ones closest to leaving. However, she has said that to her knowledge this has only happened 2x. She said they are averaging 7-8 a day and can accomodate up to 15 moms. She said the first time it happened, it was really crazy. They started the day with 5 moms laboring and ended up delivering 17 babies. They created 15 rooms based on 800-1000 births per year. Problem is no hospital can predict any one given day.

Oh, and I asked her how many csections the midwives have had to do so far. Only 1
and it was for a VBAC hopeful mom with another breech baby.

That's all I know!
Hi Kolszewski!
I was told today when I called to confirm that I was not on the Baby Shower RSVP list - needless to say, I was ticked. I should have gotten the name of the woman I spoke with - they said they would have to check with Dr. Davidson so I called the OB station and got his nurse. I told her the situation and she called me back and said Dr. Davidson said that they removed the freeze on the number for the tour. Earlier I was told they had no more room for the tour. So, we'll be there at 6:30 tonight for the tour. I'm hoping to meet Jan, although, I have an appointment with her next Wednesday. Do the midwives stay with you the entire time until you deliver? If not, should I look at hiring a Doula?

Thank you so much for sharing your updates! I did a search on their recruitment site for OB Residents and they listed their C-Section rate at 20% which is lower than the National average of 24%. With twins, I'm really hoping to avoid having to go the C-Section route!

I will let you know how it goes.
Best,
Shelley
 
#23 ·
The midwives are all very hands-on and will be there with you as much as they can be. I arrived at the hospital at 9:21 pm, Jan got there around 11 and she had no other patients, so she was with me almost nonstop until I delivered at 3:18 am. That being said, a doula (IMO) serves a totally different purpose and I highly recommend having a doula no matter who you are delivering with! I had one and I don't think I would have gotten through labor without her, plus she came back to the hospital when I had trouble nursing to help me with that.
 
#24 ·
So, we did the tour last night. They had seats for 90 and I would say there were about double that who showed up. The CNMs were there but I didn't get to meet Jan. We also were told they don't have NICU certification because they have to be open for a year to qualify, however, they can take babies 28 weeks and older.

The doctor on our tour did say that they are transferring to the overflow rooms but that is for women who are closest to discharging.

The doctor also said no birthing in the tubs - she said they were not big enough but they did encourage dads to bring their swim trunks to massage mom while she is in the tub.

I had a few questions for the NICU nurses because I'm having twins and they said that their team comes down to check on you regardless of whether or not you are at 'full term' or not. Why is that? I want as few people as possible in and around me. Anyone know what that means?

Also, I limited my questions because I seemed to be the only person asking questions and the doctor seemed to be getting annoyed with me. Whatever, she's not coming near me!

I feel better now that we did the tour. But, I think I really need to check out the Doula scene. Any recommendations on where/how to start?

Thanks!
Shelley
 
#26 ·
You will get tons of doula recommendations. You can check out dona.org - that lists the doulas in Michigan registered with them. The Center for the Childbearing Year in Ann Arbor also has a list of doulas.

I will also shamelessly plug my doula, Alicia - www.cradleofbirth.com.
Jan and Alicia worked together to help me deliver my baby and I think they both had a lot of respect for each other, and that helped me a lot!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top