Has anyone delivered at the Naval Hospital?

draghkari · January 2010

Hi there My husband and I just got orders to San Diego and will be arriving by the beginning of Feb. Im pretty sure this is the hospital ill be delivering at and Ill only have about 3 weeks to find/meet with/get comfy with a new doc before little Savannah arrives.

Anyone have recs for docs or just general info thats good to know about this hospital? TIA

Betty_Baylor99 · January 2010

I delivered DD #2 at Balboa (Naval Medical Center San Diego) last March and was receiving all OB care there.

The OB clinic is divided into two *color* teams- teal and azure. It is your run-of-the-mill standard military clinic. You are not assigned to an OB/GYN per se, just a team- and the doctor/NP that sees you on the day of your appt may not be the same person (you can request to see the same provider, but scheduling an appt is difficul simply because of the sheer numbers of appointments provided- you really need to make sure you are sure of booking an appointment and not canceling it last minute.....if you need to re-schedule, you will be lucky if you can get in within the same week of the appt!) you see next or who delivers you. I can't really recommend any OB I saw- the first one I had which I liked so much Dr. Gaylord was transferred to 29 Palms by my 3rd appt. and is no longer there. And because it is a teaching hospital, there is a good chance that the other OB's I saw has cycled out and are no longer there either.

You will have to fill out a ton of paperwork to register to give birth there (thru registration). Also, because you are so close to your EDD, I highly recommend you make an appt to take a hospital tour ASAP- they only offer it certain days of the week in the afternoon (and they do not allow children to attend- they don't make any exceptions). It's a PITA,but the hospital is SO huge that you really need to just get a *feel* of where things are because the size of the hospital is so overwhelming- the OB clinic is in a different building than L&D. Parking is very limited during the week- you should qualify for a *stork pass* after 32 weeks (which gives you special parking spots closer to the OB building) but even those stork pass spots fill up really quick. I had a good experience with L&D- the nurses and doctors were outstanding (I really couldn't say the same about the OB experience but that's a different story).

You aren't guaranteed a private room in recovery but I lucked out on getting one. There are two "wings" of recovery to accomodate new moms. I'd highly recommend you pack some good snacks or get your DH familiarized on where close by restaurants are- the hospital food isn't that great, the snack machines are limited, and there is only a McDonalds and Subway on-site (keep in mind it's only open during business hours too)

Bo and Jordan · January 2010

I will deliver at the naval hospital in April. However, I do not see an OB/GYN there...I have been going to the midwife clinic on Miramar and I LOVE my midwife! She said that there are 10 midwives on staff, so the chances of her delivering me are much higher than if I saw an OB/GYN. I do, however, have a friend that sees Dr. Klimpel at Balboa and she really likes her. Hope that helps!

marinewifebarker · January 2010

i also am going to be delivering at balboa in april. i also go to miramar clinic. i love my midwife out of all the ones ive seen between miramar and balboa christine cortes is the best. she actually seems to care and isnt fake. ive been to balboa so many times and at all diff times of the day and the stork parking is NEVER full...get yourself a stork pass! and if you gotta go in and dont get to go on a tour, to get to L&D go up the elevators in fromt of the subway, go to 3rd floor and you turn right in the hall and walk til you get to some closed doors. there should be an overhead sign. its a bit past the NICU. its in ward 3 west or whatever...not hard to find..but quite the walk! ive never seen an actual ob doctor but you write down what u want when you sign in with triage. the midwives (except for the one i have) are all seeming to be impatient and 'know-it'alls'...they dont listen to you and apparently dont seem to think everyones pregnancy is different. they will compare you with their past pregnancies...be careful who you choose. but even regardless of that, i feel safe and well-taken-care-of there. good luck!

Hixons_wife · January 2010

I'm also going to be delivering at Balboa....hopefully sometime this week. I'm hopeing that next time I get pregnant I can get assigned to Balboa and not the midwives. I dont feel prepared in anyway for this...and I blame the midwives because I felt rushed out of my appointments and forgot to ask my questions because of it and I'm afraid to call them because I got yelled at last time while I was sick. I hope you dont get assigned to them for the rest of your prenatal care.