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If you currently use them, would you recommend them and why? I'm looking to switch practices before I ttc for baby #2.
Thank you in advance!
Thank you in advance!
Obstetrics at Pennsylvania Hospital
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664 Posts
I am not in Philly but just out of curiousity checked the c-section stats for Pennsylvania Hospital (see below). They are the highest in the city and at 37.7% they are well above the national average. I wouldn't personally deliver at a hospital with stats that high unless this OB practice for some reason had much lower rates than the hospital. A phone call to the practice to ask them their c/s rates could give you that answer - and if they won't answer, that in itself is a red flag.
Lots of great info in this:
http://www.choicesinchildbirth.org/g...Philly_web.pdf
Lots of great info in this:
http://www.choicesinchildbirth.org/g...Philly_web.pdf
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230 Posts
I was an OB nurse at Pennsylvania Hospital for several years. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions about a specific doc.
I had a terrible, scarring experience with the Ob/gyn practice at Pennsylvania hospital with my first child in Jan 2006. The birth experience was just not what I expected - I don't even know where to start...I think the practice takes in far too many patients and the general treatment that you get is that of being in a baby producing factory! For everything, from check ups to blood tests to ultrasounds, the average waiting time for me was 1 hr and then when the doctor comes in, you're lucky if you get 5 minutes of their time. When I showed them my birth plan, the reaction from most doctors was bemused to outright aggressive. The nurses and the staff in the hospital were fine, I had a particularly nice nurse but so much depends on the doctor.
I believe the midwives associated with the practice are better but I haven't met them. But I would certainly never recommend the Penn Ob/gyn practice at Pennsylvania Hospital if you are looking to have a natural birth. The die is heavily loaded against you for a natural childbirth.
I believe the midwives associated with the practice are better but I haven't met them. But I would certainly never recommend the Penn Ob/gyn practice at Pennsylvania Hospital if you are looking to have a natural birth. The die is heavily loaded against you for a natural childbirth.
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441 Posts
I did not deliver there but my sister did, and it was pretty awful. They induced her, then rushed the process, pumped her full of drugs, and were just very cold/clinical. (And she had a midwife, too.) Then her baby had breathng problems and wound up in the NICU, which was an awful NICU. Lax on handwashing, crowded and noisy, and the baby's nurse couldn't even draw blood successfully . . . my sister's husband (who is a doctor) had to draw the baby's blood instead. The rooms are really small and dismal, too. I really did not like even visiting her there.
Yes, I forgot to mention my NICU experience. My son ended up with fever following the c-sec and they wheeled him off while we were sleeping in the middle of the night, without so much as waking me up!! I suddenly woke up in the middle of night and realized my son wasn't in the room - you can't even begin to imagine my panic at that point - and then the nurse told me that he was moved because of the fever.
Like the PP post said, the NICU was terrible. They had my son on antibiotics twice a day, for a week and sometime during the week the residents and interns who run the NICU, lost track of how many doses he had had. When I mentioned this to my OB he assured me that it really doesn't matter if my son gets 1-2 extra doses!!!! So we had to track down the NICU nurse (again very cooperative) who looked up the records and counted them off and made a print out for us to show the NICU peds so they would discharge our son sooner rather than later. At which point, the residents and interns became very hostile towards us and were extremely rude during entire discharge process.
I'm not sure why the situation there is the way it is - my only explanation after spending over a week in that hospital is that the OB practice and the LDR over there is extremely overcrowded. The doctors all look tired and the whole place seems disorganized. Seriously, avoid it, if possible.
Like the PP post said, the NICU was terrible. They had my son on antibiotics twice a day, for a week and sometime during the week the residents and interns who run the NICU, lost track of how many doses he had had. When I mentioned this to my OB he assured me that it really doesn't matter if my son gets 1-2 extra doses!!!! So we had to track down the NICU nurse (again very cooperative) who looked up the records and counted them off and made a print out for us to show the NICU peds so they would discharge our son sooner rather than later. At which point, the residents and interns became very hostile towards us and were extremely rude during entire discharge process.
I'm not sure why the situation there is the way it is - my only explanation after spending over a week in that hospital is that the OB practice and the LDR over there is extremely overcrowded. The doctors all look tired and the whole place seems disorganized. Seriously, avoid it, if possible.
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5,300 Posts
I delivered at Abington. My husband overheard one of the pediatricians asking "why are these babies all c-sections?" (Mine wasn't - I got lucky
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) The healthy Birth Philly shows that amazingly, the c-section rate has only gone up from the time I was there - now at 30%.
Still, I am not a fan of Abington because the repeatedly tried to sell us circ for our little boy.
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No means no.
You might want to look at the 2 birth centers in the area.
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Still, I am not a fan of Abington because the repeatedly tried to sell us circ for our little boy.
You might want to look at the 2 birth centers in the area.
I had a great experience at Pennsylvania Hospital this past August. A midwife and nurse helped me with the delivery (even though I was part of the Women's First OB practice) since I was low-risk. It was truly a blessing. She helped me get through the process unmedicated and I am switching to the Midwifes practice in the Curtis Center now as a result of the experience. I also had great postpartum nurses and am thankful for all of their assistance. I have friends who have had c-sections who were less satisfied with their experience, but all of my mommy friends who delivery vaginally have no complaints.
There are a number of lactation consultants on staff and most of the nurses are well educated in breastfeeding issues -- if this is a concern to you. I didn't know until later, when my SIL delivered at Bryn Mawr, that this is not standard. At BM, only 1 lactation consultant is on staff and most nurses will not assist with breastfeeding. So strange!
Please note that the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Hospital are related, but are different institutions. The nomenclature can be confusing!
Good luck!
There are a number of lactation consultants on staff and most of the nurses are well educated in breastfeeding issues -- if this is a concern to you. I didn't know until later, when my SIL delivered at Bryn Mawr, that this is not standard. At BM, only 1 lactation consultant is on staff and most nurses will not assist with breastfeeding. So strange!
Please note that the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Hospital are related, but are different institutions. The nomenclature can be confusing!
Good luck!
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