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Opinons on Woodwinds vs. St. John's?
Wondering if anyone can tell me about their L & D experiences at Woodwinds and St. John's hospital. Would love to deliver at Woodwinds but it is further away and construction will be going on up till my delivery date which makes me a little nervous. St. John's is closer and more convenient.
Thanks for the information!!!
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Re: Opinons on Woodwinds vs. St. John's?
Photo taken at 16 months old
I delivered my son in December 2009 at St. John's. The nursing staff was really excellent. I also did not have a pediatrician prior to the birth and met an excellent one that I still see for my son. I am a first time mom and they were helpful, but not pushy. I will for sure go there again if I have another baby. The only inconvenience was that they were remodeling the birthing suites at the time so we had to move out of the maternity unit into a really small room for our second night there. So if you go there, you will have a newly remodeled suite.
Good luck with the remainder of your pregnancy!
I delivered both dd at St John's and loved it there! I too live in Blaine and although it's a bit of a drive, it's totally worth it. The nursing staff is awesome and the l&d area is very quiet. I got to deliver my latest addition post remodel and enjoyed the updated colors and new bathrooms. The food was pretty good. My favorite was the fact they give you a menu and you can just keep ordering as much as you want. I ordered enough for two breakfasts one morning just to see if they'd cut me off.
I've had many friends deliver at Woodwinds and while it is very nice, it's always been super busy, plus, they can't take preemies if you deliver earlier than expected.
This is a good point. I was 5 days late but during my labor Greta's heartrate kept decelerating during contractions so they were a little concerned during delivery. They had a Neonatal specialist at delivery to check her over. I'm not sure if Woodwinds would have this.
Photo taken at 16 months old
I had a great delivery at Woodwinds and would definitely deliver there again. One of the upsides for me was that they offered water births, which I really wanted. (Livie came so quick though that from the time I got to the hospital to the time she came, there wasn't even enough time to fill the tub). St. Joe's also offers water-births, but not St. Johns.
Woodwinds does have a special care nursery, just not a NICU.
As much as I loved Woodwinds, if St. Johns is closer, and you don't care about a water birth - go there! St. Johns is a great hospital, with great philosophies, and I know many people who have had wonderful experiences there.
A Little Bird and a Monkey Butt
woodwinds actually does a lot of high risk births....they'd be able to stabilize a NICU baby, even if they needed to do so to transfer them to somewhere like Children's.
I don't like St. John's. The last time I was there visiting a friend in postpartum, it seemed like there was very little security. I stopped to visit on my way home from work (so I was in scrubs, but had no ID badge on), and I could go anywhere I wanted on that unit without being questioned. It was actually a little scary to me. My friend's nurse actually walked in, saw me holding the baby and said, "Oh, sorry, I thought this was my patient's room" and walked out. We had to call her back to tell her I didn't work there.
I used to work at Regions....even in scrubs this situation wouldn't have happened there....there are special badges the staff wears there, and if they don't recognize you as one of their own, they ask to see it. (and I've been floated there...they truly do mean it).
I seriously feel like I could have walked out with a baby at John's if I wanted to. Maybe security is tighter now, maybe it was just a bad day. But it was enough for me to never want to deliver there.
I delivered at St. Johns and really like it. Overall, the nurses were very friendly and patient. The remodel is suppose to be fabulous.
The NICU at St. John's is just one level of care up from what Woodwinds has. So if it's anything serious, baby will probably get transfered to Abbott or Children's either way.
I've heard of people having great experiences at both. I've heard of 2 really negative experiences at Woodwinds, but staff errors can happen anywhere.
Do your doctors go to either or are you trying to pick doctors based on hospitals?
I delivered DD at Woodwinds and had a wonderful experience there. However, she was delivered at 35 weeks and needed to be on CPAP so was transferred to St. John's. Woodwinds has a special care nursery but if there is a higher level of need they'll transfer the baby out, as in DD's case. I did have a neonate intesive team while I delivered and they do have Neonatologists who round at Woodwinds. I wasn't expecting DD to come early. I was then transferred to St. John's and had a fine experience there as well. It was before it was remodeled though.
DS was born at Woodwinds and we stayed there the entire time. I had another great experience although this time DS was born via c-section which we knew would happen. The OR team was great and the nurses for my PP care were great too (well all but one and she was tolerable). They offer complementary medicine at Woodwinds so I was able to get acupuncture, healing touch and have a foot massage done. It was an added bonus.
With all the being said I'd probably go to the hospital that was closer to me. I live in Woodbury so Woodwinds was a natural choice. I really do think the nurses you have make or break your stay.
Children Photography Photo Credit: Heather Barta Photography
I delivered DD at Woodwinds and had a wonderful experience there. However, she was delivered at 35 weeks and needed to be on CPAP so was transferred to St. John's. Woodwinds has a special care nursery but if there is a higher level of need they'll transfer the baby out, as in DD's case. I did have a neonate intesive team while I delivered and they do have Neonatologists who round at Woodwinds. I wasn't expecting DD to come early. I was then transferred to St. John's and had a fine experience there as well. It was before it was remodeled though.
DS was born at Woodwinds and we stayed there the entire time. I had another great experience although this time DS was born via c-section which we knew would happen. The OR team was great and the nurses for my PP care were great two (well all but one and she was tolerable). They offer complementary medicine at Woodwinds so I was able to get acupuncture, healing touch and have a foot massage done. It was an added bonus.
With all the being said I'd probably go to the hospital that was closer to me. I live in Woodbury so Woodwinds was a natural choice. I really do think the nurses you have make or break your stay.
Children Photography Photo Credit: Heather Barta Photography