Houston OB for C-section

[amaayeh]

I have a friend who just discovered she is pregnant with her fifth! She had the other children when she lived in Oklahoma and now needs a female OB here in Houston. This will be her fifth c-section and she really, really wants an excellent surgeon to ensure her and her child's health. She said she doesn't care as much about them being touchy feely because she has done this before, she just wants to feel confident they can deal with the multiple csection issue.

Also, she does not circumcise and is adament that her kids are never, ever given a bottle or formula. Any recommendations on hospitals or ones to avoid? Obviously that depends on the OB, too, but sometimes ones are worse than others. She mentioned Texas Women's....any thoughts??

[alegna]

Womens will give and push formula. I would try to get with Dryden if I had to have a section. She did my sisters' and was a fabulous surgeon.

-Angela

[Mama_of_1]

I recommend Dr. Stephen Guilliams at West Houston. He is my doc and knows his stuff. Plus, the staff at West Houston are VERY breastfeeding friendly and if you say, 'no formula' then no formula. We even avoided the eye drops and the Hep. B shot.

Uh, I just reread that she wants a female OB. Ok, NM.

[texaspeach]

women's hospital has mandatory separation/ nursery stay (edit for clarification: they require a 4 hour stay to "transition" baby while mom is in recovery). I would avoid it. I gave birth (c/s) at st. luke's med center - baby was never taken from me, he spent the 2 hrs we were in recovery on me (they did his weight/lenth in the or with dh calling out the info to me and describing what was going on). postpartum newborn stuff is done in room (bath, vitals, etc), the pku is done in the nursery but parents are welcome to go with the baby. they didn't ever mention formula, circ, shots, etc as stated in my birthplan and were fine with us delaying ds's bath. they didn't bat an eye at ds being in bed with me and encouraged rooming in and skin to skin contact. I hate hospitals, but the baby policies there weren't bad

eta dr dryden isn't taking new pts unless you know someone who uses her and can refer you. dr boswell in the same practice was the surgeon who did my c/s, I'm not sure if she's any better/worse than any other ob as far as multiple c/s goes. I would suggest your friend ask on the ican list. it is mostly women seeking vbac, but they also know a lot about drs in the area.

[almadianna]

In my experience the post partum nurses at West Houston are not knowledgeable about breastfeeding at all.

I visited a mama there and the nurses were adamant about how her baby needed to have XX ounces and gain weight before leaving. It was really distressing.

[babz]

Dr. Zepeda at Women's Specialist is a man, but he did my section. I was w/the Midwives there and they just raved about him and what a good surgeon he is - they said he's won an award for surgery voted by docs and nurses. He had a gentle bedside manner.

[babz]

Adding - I VBACed twice w/ Dr. Johnson at the Woodlands Memorial Hermann. Very breastfeeding friendly facility - they have an excellent Lactation Consultant Program and they handed out some great material. They even have a breastfeeding shop - you can buy nursing bras, rent pumps, etc. The policy is to room-in there - they only allow babies to go to the nursery from 11:00 pm - 6:00 am, but it is discouraged. Mine stayed in my room for the whole stay. The postnatal nurses are assigned to both mom and baby, so they come in and check mom and baby at the same time. I really like Dr. Johnson and would probably choose to stay with her if I had to have another section, but I don't know anyone personally who's had a section with her.

My friend had a preemie w/a cleft palette there. She was not able to nurse, though they really helped her try, but they helped her get pumping going well. She had an unplanned section w/Dr. Reed because of developing HELLP.

[ShwarmaQueen]

I had DD at Women's and they didn't push/force formula, but they did her sugar water and there was a 4 hour separation after the section, allegedly for observation of her tachycardia. Also, the nurses love pacifiers, even if you're adament about breastfeeding. DD roomed in with me but they let me know they would take her to the nursery if I wanted them to (she slept on my chest the entire time).

I did much more research the second time around, and that said, I'd go with MH or St Lukes (medical center or Woodlands).

[alia]

I had DD at Woman's and also didn't have any forced separation (longer than 4 hours...or was it 2?), although there were offers to take her so I could sleep (not accepted, thank you). We didn't have a problem with sugar water or formula, possibly because we kept her in-room. The propaganda for formula was... well...quite present. This was two years ago. They did seem to like using pacifiers (which luckily didn't hurt us), but overall, apart from one staff member and one or two nurses, I was rather disappointed at the supposedly legendary care.

My OB was a James Gullett. I would have confidence in him as a surgeon, though I didn't have a C-section, but he's a man, so not for your friend.

Also, I would not think that the OB would have much control over whether the newborn was not circ'd or given a bottle...that would be the pedi, I think... maybe the father or birth partner needs to be there to guarantee that her rules are followed.

GL on your search!