Experience with Prentice Women's Hospital for birth? - Page 2

[acp]

Originally Posted by coobabysmom

A Woman's Place http://awomansplacechicago.com/does water births at Lincoln Park hospital http://www.lincolnparkhospital.com/contact.htm...

This could be another option for you and its relatively the same distance from Hyde Park as West Sub is. These are the same homebirth midwives acp mentioned in an above post about April being an issue....

THat's very true. If you're 100 percent certain you want a hospital birth, I would think West Sub would be your best option, since I've heard Lincoln Park Hospital is slightly dingy and not as great an atmosphere. But if you have any interest in being open to a home birth, Jennifer and Amy at A Woman's Place do both home births and water births at Lincoln Park, and they're fine with clients waiting until near the very end to decide if they want a home or hospital birth. They are filling up fast (if they're not already full) for April, I know, but it could be worth a call...

[Pernillep]

Originally Posted by maia71

I used to have an OB/GYN at Northwestern; however, I switched once I became pregnant and inquired about natural child birth. They treated me like a freak and touted the benefits of c-section. I switched to Gayle Riedman's group in Oak Park--West Suburban Midwives--and was thoroughly pleased with the care I received. There are three midwives in the practice and they're all wonderful!

I delivered at West Suburban Hospital in Oak Park. I had a very quick first labor--just 7 hours--so when my husband finally got me to the hospital I was completely dilated and delivered my son just an hour and a half later. My midwife was Julie Marks and she was very supportive. I used the ABC room--alternative birthing room--and had a water birth. I also used Hypnobirthing which allowed me to stay focused. I was pleased with the hospital staff as they left me alone, didn't force an IV or fetal monitor on me, and gave me lots of space. I hope this helps--good luck to you!

I had the exact same experience.
I loved my OB at Northwestern but the chance of getting him was so small and he was not allowed to use the tubs. To get the tub at all you had to switch to their midwives. I had 2 appointments and both were horrible. The first told me i was required to have an appointment with the anestesiologist (sp) since I would probably want and epi. I switched to West Sub midwives and have a wonderful experience with Gayle. It is interesting that ofter the birth I missed all 3 of them and felt like just going in to say hi. I had gotten so comfortable with them during my prenatal care.

[wldflower]

Just to update this thread with current information:

Lincoln Park Hospital closed, and Amy is no longer with A Woman's Place. It is just Jennifer now.

[Shonahsmom]

I heard the rumors about this. Do you know the reason for the split? Are they both strictly homebirth midwives now or are either of them hooking up with another hospital?

[pammysue]

Originally Posted by kltroy

It felt too much like a "baby factory". Too impersonal. Like you go there and you enter a machine. Stuff just starts happening to you.

I don't have any experience with Prentice, but I have heard it called a "baby factory" because of the number of babies born there and the fact that there is really no individualized care.

I delivered with Julie Marks from WSmidwives at West Sub and it was a great experience. I highly, highly recommend them! I did not have a water birth, but I did labor in the tub for a while. (It was really warm in the room and with the hot water, I was just getting overheated.) Julie was very hands off. For a lot of the time it was just me an DH together. We didn't really see the nurse (it was a fast delivery though) until DS was almost born and then she just helped w/clean up.

I also had a good experience with the hospital staff. They pretty much left us alone. All of the nurses were very pro-BF, I bedshared with DS in the queen size bed the whole time and no one blinked an eye, and there was no hassle about refusing things/RIC.

Originally Posted by Pernillep

It is interesting that ofter the birth I missed all 3 of them and felt like just going in to say hi. I had gotten so comfortable with them during my prenatal care.

I do too!! I was actually a little excited that we might have thrush. I was going to make an appointment and go in, but then I wanted DS' lungs and ears checked as he also has a bad cold, so we went to the GP. By the end, Julie felt like a great friend.

[wldflower]

Originally Posted by Shonahsmom

I heard the rumors about this. Do you know the reason for the split? Are they both strictly homebirth midwives now or are either of them hooking up with another hospital?

nope. Jennifer still does home and hospital -- I believe she has privileges at norwegian now. no idea what happened to amy, who helped with J's birth in Sept.

[ohmymuffin]

I had my 1st child in 2002 at Prentice with NWPG CNM's and I had a waterbirth planned. I don't have a horror story, but no glowing praise either. I did get an unmedicated vaginal birth, but it was because my body and son didn't give them time to think about it.
They are super busy. While I only pushed for about 1/2 hour, I had to do it looking at the birthing tub that they were too busy to fill up. This was becaue they didn't think I was progressed as far as I was. (U/S estimated my baby at 11 pounds and they introduced me to a DR. due to size.) He was only 7'14 and 21inches. I think they discounted my ability to have him naturally because they were relying on the U/S technology. For that I fault them. I will say the nurses were very easy going and I had a great doula so that helped. I do credit them for not pushing to induce, they let me go a week late without pushing inducuction. Ultimately I only labored for 6 hours at hospital or things could have turned out differently, but I credit my body, hypnobirthing classes, and the birthball for that.

I have to say the fact that they even offer CNM's is great. I live in St. Louis now and the birthing options are nill. DM are just now coming out of hiding thanks to a change in the midwife laws over the summer. There is only one birthing center in the whole state, and one homebirth Dr. who has been in practice over 30yrs so may not be working much longer. Chicago does have much better options. I would have had my second as a homebirth, in a minute, but I couldn't afford to pay out of pocket.

Nathanael "Nate" 9/2002
Aiyana "LaLa" 12/2005:

[emilyw99]

i had a similar experience as ohmymuffin. i was with the midwives and had a natural waterbirth, but there wasn't much time for them to intervene with anything. i arrived at 7cm and my son came two hours later. the one point of tension was that after agreeing to not heplock after getting a dose of antibiotics, they heplocked me anyway and i (in my birthing rage) ripped it out. they, nor i, were very happy about that.

even though the midwives are very nice, there are just too many policies and red tape at northwestern. it is a high-risk place, that's what they're used to, and that's what their policies are geared towards. even though i was lucky, i don't think that my experience is the norm for people wanting natural births.

i am doing a homebirth next time (for sure).

[Thistles_in_Snow]

Birthing at Prentice

I had my daughter at Prentice in July 2005, so I have not been to the new facility. I wanted a midwife practice and that's who took my insurance, so there I went. I am not going back. I found, like previous commenters, that they talked a big game about being supportive of natural birth but when the day came it was one intervention after another. I had to fight for extra time every time they wanted to do something. In the end, I delivered vaginally with vacuum extraction but I feel like I was LUCKY to make it out of there without a c-section.

I used childbirth hypnosis, which seemed to confuse the L&D nurses because I was so calm and pain-free.

Also, the post-partum care was not great. I got no support much less instruction with breastfeeding. A pediatrician actually SCOLDED me for being adamant about nursing. There was no place for my husband to sleep and no food was provided for him (fortunately, in an urban setting, we could order out!) The nurses also kept trying to take my daughter away to the nursery when I told them I wanted her to room-in.

Ariel Derringer is great and I really wish I could go back to her. But I am going to the midwives at Swedish this time (not really feasible for you since it's so far north) and am considering a home birth. There is a Home Birth meetup group at Bloom Yoga Studio in Lincoln Square. I know there are lots of women in this group who have homebirthed in tiny apartments, so it can be done!

[beansricerevolt]

Originally Posted by Thistles_in_Snow

There is a Home Birth meetup group at Bloom Yoga Studio in Lincoln Square. I know there are lots of women in this group who have homebirthed in tiny apartments, so it can be done!

There is a meeting tomorrow, Sat. the 10th. at 4 if anyone would like to come. Im planning on being there. All the women that come are very sweet and welcoming. This will be my second time going. I really enjoyed the last meeting.

[Romana]

Just wanted to add what I know, since this thread has so much good info.

A good friend chose an OB at Prentice. She was told at her first appointment (8 wks pregnant) that she was probably too small for natural birth and would need a c-section. (umm, ok, 'cause you can tell that from looking at her?) She was over 5' tall and normal-shaped (i.e. had curves, normal weight, etc.).

They really primed her for the c-section, plus told her they were sure she'd deliver early. When that didn't happen but she had PUPPS and was uncomfortable, she got induced a couple of weeks before her due date.

She was lucky and had an uncomplicated induced vag birth w/epidural that took about 6 hours. Really lucky to avoid that c-section! She was satisfied with her experience, but it gives you an idea of what it's like there.

I had Jennifer from A Woman's Place for ds' birth, a homebirth. We called too late and she arrived after the baby was born, but I have a high opinion of her. I feel she would have respected me during birth as she did before and after. I will definitely see her for baby #3, if we have one! I never got a chance to know Amy although I met her once . . . anyone know where she is or what her plans are? I hope she hasn't left the state or stopped doing homebirth, because IL is so short on legal homebirth providers.

[C99]

I gave birth twice at NMH-Prentice prior to the re-do. The second time, I told everyone point-blank that I didn't want an epidural or to be offered one. The resident came in no less than 6 times to ask me if I wanted or was ready for an epidural. I got pressured into an epidural with my second birth there. So when I got pregnant with #3, I switched the midwives at Swedish Covenant Hospital, and got my natural, no-drugs and no-offers-of-drugs birth. I highly recommend the midwives at SCH and SCH in general. They offer special post-partum rooms for moms of NICU babies (my first was a NICU baby and I got to recover at NMH on a floor full of screaming newborns while my baby was 8 floors below me in NICU), have the LCs visit *every* mother after birth (I only saw a LC at Prentice because I happened to be next to her in the NICU one day and called her over), and only offer rooming-in. I don't think there are places for dads to stay overnight in the post-partum rooms, but this was never a point of preference for my DH and me.

HTH

[Thistles_in_Snow]

I'm so glad to hear this, Caroline!

[kltroy]

FYI, here are Chicago area hospital's c-section rates, for those of you who are interested (this was posted on our ICAN mailing list). May give you all some food for thought when choosing a hospital.

Hospital name/deliveries/live births/c-sections/% (rounded)
Northwestern/11,106/11,029/3,069/28%
Swedish/2,477/2,477/579/23%
West Sub/2,234/2/225/451/20%
Lutheran/3,736/3,713/1,373/37%
MacNeal/1,924/1,922/488/25%
U of C/2,860/2,798/731/26%
Illinois Masonic/2,946/2,931/928/32%
UIC/2,844/2,714/says 0 but they must not have responded/??

As a comment about UIC, according to the ACNM website, they have the lowest c-section rate in the city and one of the lowest in the state, so I'm guessing it's at or under 20%....

[pammysue]

That is interesting. Thanks for posting. I wonder what West Sub's section rate is in the ABC rooms with midwives as opposed to "regular" patients.

ETA: This blog says UIC and Alexian did not report c-section rates.

[acp]

Thanks for posting. I'm curious what the rate is at Evanston Hospital (and St. Francis) too. That's where I gave birth to DD last time (we're planning a home birth this time) and had a great experience - about as good as a hospital birth can be - though that probably was mostly because of my midwife. Still, I felt like the hospital was very supportive of my plans, didn't have any policies (like requiring internal monitoring or IV or procedures we didn't want) that were onerous, and the nurses were great and supportive - not one offered me an epidural, and it was a very long labor.

[dublinmask]

I had a baby 6 months ago at the new Prentice with the midwife group there and they were awesome!! I had to be induced at 39 wks bc of low amniotic fluid (they had warned me it was possible a few weeks before and I did lots of natural things to increase which worked only marginally). I was skeptical because I didn't want to be induced but it turned out to be the smart thing, they broke my water later and a mini trickle came out. But I didn't use pain meds and had a water birth. They were very supportive of me and I never felt any push to do anything I didn't want.

The hospital is AMAZING and the rooms were the best. Our room overlooked the lake and Sat night after I had the baby we watched the Fireworks reflect off the lake from Navy Pier. DH and I guessed that it would be a $600/night hotel room with that view!!

If you are looking for a hospital birth but as natural as possible, I would suggest using NMPG midwife group. Love them!