Hi Ladies,
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Has anyone heard anything -- good or bad -- about Clara Maass in Belleville? That's the only hospital my OB delivers out of, and I'm not sure what the maternity center's reputation is like. We spent a horrible night in the ER there back in October when I lost our first baby, and I can only hope that the maternity center is better than the ER!
Do they have private rooms? A neonatal department? Anyone know if their reputation is good?
?Thanks!?
Re: Clara Maass Hospital
Hi! I haven't posted on the Nest in prob. over two years, but I stop by from time to time...didn't even know there was an NJ Bump board! But I've had two kids at Clara and I have both good and bad things to report...this will be a little long, so my apologies in advance!
Both times, everything on the L&D side was FABULOUS. Great nurses, wonderful anesthesiologists (Dr. Khan and Dr. Desai). My son was born in January, and it was an emergency C-section...with the help of God our L&D nurse literally saved my baby's life by holding him up off the prolapsed cord till he was delivered. Both times I had a private room, the first time with my own bathroom/shower and the second time it was a private bedroom but shared bathroom/shower with the room next door. The rooms are good size and I think they were all renovated a few years ago; I remember someone saying they were pretty newly done when I delivered in '07.
On the postpartum side, I had a few complaints...mainly that if you want to exclusively breastfeed the nurses don't always listen. In fact with my daughter in 2007 we actually got into an argument w/ a nurse who was basically making us feel like bad parents b/c we didn't want to give formula. Weird, right?? You'd think they'd be pro-breastfeeding. We felt like they were taking advantage of the fact that we were first-time parents to force their views on us, but the second time around we knew what we were doing and stood our ground. But they definitely checked in on me all the time and got me whatever I needed.
I too had a bad experience in the ER when I fell on the ice during my first pregnancy...I was there for HOURS before they took me to do an ultrasound. A couple of weeks later I fell again on a patch of motor oil in the street, and that time they brought me up right away to be monitored. So there are definitely pros and cons, but if we have more kids, I will deliver there again.
So hope all goes well wherever you decide to deliver!
God Bless,
Amy