Houston Babies
Giving birth at Methodist Hospital reviews?
Anyone recently give birth at Methodist in the medical center and want to share how it went? I really don't have an option of going elsewhere because of my doctor, but I want to be prepared. How med-free birth friendly are they? Is it really mother-centered care as they advertise or is that just a line and they just follow the same protocol for each patient?
Thanks for any insight you can provide.
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Re: Giving birth at Methodist Hospital reviews?
I had a fantastic experience there and they are very accommodating to your wants. I did not have an epi and it wasn't an issue at all. My daughter stayed in our room the whole time and formula was never even brought up with me (I wanted to BF only). We were only there 24 hours (my choice) and was delivered by the hospital on-call doc because my labor was so fast.
So Tasty, So Yummy
I think it was wonderful. The nurses were really sweet and patient. I had to go 3 times (once for baby monitoring when I was about 6 months pregnant 'cause DD wasn't moving, 2 times to get prostaglandins because DD wasn't coming out after 40 weeks).
If i remember correctly, the only thing that they won't let you do is a walking epidural.
Were you allowed to move around during labor? What about monitoring of the baby?
You're post made me smile already!
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After the 2 applications of prostaglandin gel did nothing to get labor started, I had to schedule an induction. All my plans of natural labor were out of the question. I was hooked to the pitocin and constant monitoring, so there was no walking (because of the monitor).
After 4 hours of pitocin and no dilatation, my doctor gave me two options: go home and come back tomorrow to start the pitocin again or get an epidural and see if it'd help me relax and dilate. The only caveat is that once you get an epidural there's no going back. If the epidural doesn't help you need to have a C-section.
Anyway, I got the epidural and it was a blessing. I dilated quickly after getting it, and everything went very smoothly afterwards.
So my personal experience at Methodist is that they'll let you try your way and if your way doesn't work, they'll give you options. The nurses are super sweet, which is really important as they'll see much more of them than you'll see your doctor.
I saw several women walking around to try and get things moving along faster, so I'm pretty sure they do let you walk.
And, the food is not bad but the kitchen closes very early at night, so have that baby before the kitchen closes or you'll be capping off a long day of fasting with lettuce, which is what happened to me.
I just had my second delivery experience at Methodist. I thought the first was great, but this one went above and beyond my expectations. I had great nurses the first time, but the second time...they were AMAZING. I just got my survey in the mail a few days ago and I can't wait to comment about 3 specific nurses that went beyond what's required of them to ensure an awesome experience and an easy recovery.
My L&D nurse did support (kinda push) an epidural. I had back labor (again) and progress quickly so she was encouraging me to make my decision sooner than later. Unfortunately the epidurals (yes, I had two) never took, but she was with me the entire time supporting me and doing what she could to help me through it. She allowed me to stand and rock, do whatever I needed to get through my contractions despite the fact that I was tethered to the monitors, pitocin, etc..
I think they have guidelines for patient care, but I know that they let me do what I needed. Heck, once my DD's head came out I reached down and delivered her (reached under her arms and pulled her up on to my tummy). It was a painful labor, but an awesome delivery. My recovery has been incredible this time (super easy) compared to my first and I credit my nurses with giving me pointers, helping me with my care, etc.
All in all I highly recommend Methodist.
I was there three times - once for monitoring, once for cervidal and the last time for the induction. I did not want an induction, I had wanted to go med free, but they were as accommodating as possible to my wishes despite the induction. I was on a monitor and a pictocin drip, but was allowed about 15 to 20 minutes off of the monitor every hour. My nurse said she wouldn't come to check on me until they hadn't gotten a reading for that time frame. (She gave me this freedom so I could walk around.) Plus, you can unhook from the machines to go to the restroom.
Despite the induction and the fact that I made it to 1 cm in 9 hours of hard labor, no one ever mentioned an epidural to me until I requested it. We ended up with an emergency c/s due to fetal distress and while I wish some things had gone differently, in the long run, I can't really complain. They let me snuggle with Marion on the OR table for a good ten minutes and then she was back with me in our room 40 minutes after her birth and we started nursing.
The night baby nurse was a bit of a PITA to work with, but we really only saw her for a few minutes. Everyone else there was fantastic. My L&D nurse for most of the day came back at her next shift to check on us and by the time we left (we were there for five days) I think we knew everyone on staff really well. We asked them to take Marion to the nursery one night, but other than that, she was with us pretty much the whole time. They really are as mother/baby friendly as they say.
The only thing I would advise is that if you plan on BFing, have a back up lactation consultant. The LCs on staff are only there M-F 8-5, so if you give birth on a weekend, you might not see an LC at all.
I should also add that we had a doula and I think that contributed to a lot of our good experience. The nurses there are pretty familiar with doulas and left us alone for the majority of our labor. If I hadn't had a doula and had more supervision from the nurses, I might have felt more pressure to get an epi or other drugs earlier. But all in all, it was a great experience and it's where we plan on delivering #2.
j+k+m+e | running with needles
Happy news Kat! A LC came and saw us on Friday, the day after DD#2 was born to see if we needed anything. I was discharged on a Saturday and a different LC came and spent about an hour with us that morning, just chatting about breastfeeding. I didn't need support, she was just chatting and such and talking about my breastfeeding experiences. Perhaps they have them during the weekends now or it was a fluke....definitely ask about it if you do the tour/get a chance to call. If you need the number let me know and I'll look in my packet. They gave me a TON of stuff this time, resources for LCs, support groups, etc.
I just did a happy dance! Thank you Kelley - that's wonderful news!
j+k+m+e | running with needles
So Tasty, So Yummy
Thanks for the feedback ladies!
I was most worried about an intervention cascade during an induction. I have to go off my blood thinners at 37 weeks and since we don't want me off them for too long, my ob (Dr. Law) won't let me go past 40 weeks.
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