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Maryland Babies
Anyone deliver at HCGH?
I'll be delivering there in September and would love to hear people's experiences. We're relatively new to HoCo; and I've never even set foot in the place. Of course we'll do the tour beforehand - but personal experiences are always more helpful.
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Re: Anyone deliver at HCGH?
I did (induction at 37w1d, vaginal delivery), and I would again. Here's my take, Knot-style w/ grades:
L&D- A+: Couldn't have asked for a better experience. I was there from 9:30pm Sunday untl 9 pm Tuesday and had 5 nurses, all of whom were great. One was a little cranky, but she ended up having to go into surgery, so I only had her for a few hours. Epidural was placed about 20 mins after I requested it.
Maternal/Child unit- B+: As with any hospital, there were people in and out of our room 24/7, which was super annoying. I got my meds right when I was supposed to. Bathrooms were tiny and not configured well for managing all that you have to manage after giving birth. We checked out around noon on Thursday.
Nursery- C-: The nurses were just downright rude. One nurse scolded us for not changing DD's diaper when it was wet (we didn't realize there was a ph strip on the diaper indicating it was wet), and they gave DD formula when she was just 14 hours old without even mentioning it to me first. They also forgot to give DD her hearing screening, so we had to go back 2 weeks later to do it.
Lessons learned/advice: Make sure they've administered all tests on your LO before you leave the hospital. Play dumb at each shift change in MCU and ask for more diapers/wipes/maxi pads/Tucks. We never asked for more and only came home with about 6 diapers. Also, bring home all of the extra absorbant pads they use for you to sit on- they have many uses at home. Order the French toast for breakfast. Ask to see a lactation consultant a few times a day (If you want to) so you can see all of them (I saw 3)- they have different personalities and you can hear different perspectives. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.
This just made me laugh out loud...lol, ah the Knot days!
Ditto this - ah, the good old days!! Thanks everyone for your input. Nutmegger - I can't believe they gave formula without your permission - or even telling you!! I'd've been livid. And at least now I know to brace for the nursery staff - and that there are pH strips on the diapers....
lovelylittleworld
BFP#2 1/12/12 ~ Missed M/C 8w2d
Ditto Nutmegger - L&D was pretty awesome, but M&C unit kinda left a lot to be desired.
I had a scheduled c-section (breech) @ 39 weeks. There was no problem w/ scheduling it for exactly 39 weeks, the procedure was on time and the nurse & anestheseoligst (sp!) were all great and super fast w/ my epidural and catheter. The one thing I didn't like - DH and doula couldn't come in while they did epidural -which was fine, but then the nurse asked if I wanted them to come in while they were doing the rest of the prep for the c-section - cleaning me, etc. or if they shoudl wait until I was draped. I told them to wait until I was draped, but they came in while they were prepping and I was completely laid out naked on the table. Honestly, I was having a baby anyway. .. but if I could have preserved my modesty a little more I would have wanted to.
They were also good about letting the doula come in and even though I had a c-section, I'm sooooo glad I had her there. DH and I were overwhelmed and really wouldn't have known half the questions to ask and would have forgotten to take pictures, but she was right there telling us what was going on, and actually was a big comfort to DH during the actual c-section.
They had the lactation consultants come while I was in M&C unit and they come like ~5x a day - but they basically poke their head in and go - hey - how's nursing going? Everythign OK - alrighty! and then leave. As a new mom I had idea what was going on and whether things were normal or not - make every single one of them come in and watch you and your baby latch. Also - get teh numbers of the LCs before you go home so if you have problems you can call somebody to make a home visit. Alot of the problems don't really show up until you go home and your milk comes in.
This is me totally being nosy- do they have a real nursery (where you can send the baby and have the nurses watch him or her for the night) @ HCGH or do the babies room in?
I really thought most hospitals were moving away from having full on nurseries.
You can still send the baby to the nursery at night. Their website said they strongly recommend rooming in, but I didn't feel any pressure for it. In the morning though, they would bring Sophia in the room without me calling first.
The one weird thing that happened when I was there was that one night they turned off the water. It freaked me out, like I wasn't going to be able to flush the toilet. They brought around bottled water and pre-moistened wipes. They are (or were) expanding the maternity ward and doing construction. The construction guys needed to turn off the water. I still think this is weird. It is a hospital...
I thought HCGC was just ok. I didn't need a lot from the staff, so I guess I didn't get a lot. I didn't feel like I was mistreated or mishandled, but it was no spa. I would deliver there again.
They do have a full nursery, etc. and they will let you room in, but I didn't feel like they encouraged it. In fact, they wouldn't let you co-sleep in your room and insisted that the baby either be held by you upright or nursing or be in the bassinett thing. In retrospect, I coudl have just co-slept - what were they going to do, kick me out?
One other random - not comforting note - one night I spilled some water or juice on my floor next to bed. It was after 10 pm and DH had gone home (I really didn't see any reason for him to sleep on those ridiculous chair beds when we had a normal bed 10 minutes away - at least one of us should get some sleep!) I couldn't really clean it up and didn't have enough towels in the room, etc. I couldn't figure out the number for housekeeping so I went out to the main desk to tell the nurse (or nurse assistant?) what had happened and could she call someone. She was completely flummoxed by this and totally just like - oh, OK - I'll let the custodian know when he comes around. I told her no, its a big spill - can you call somebody? and then she said she didn't knwo who to call - how to call and she didn't offer to come help herself either? That still just seems crazy - so I ended up finding whatever I coudl to sop up the spill myself. I told the nurse manager the next day when she came around to hear how I was doing, etc. and she gave me a GC for a free entree @ the cafeteria. LOL
I had a great experience there. I had DD the end of August. My water broke at 36w6d and then had to be induced. They handled everything very well.
We also were able to experience the Pediatric Emergency Room because DD had jaundice after we left the hospital. All of the doctors and nurses were great there as well.
My best friend gave birth there 7 years ago, and it sounds from the stories in this thread that things have changed for the better - but the experience I had being present with her through the whole labor was what completely turned me off to hospital births all together.
I found the nurses to be completely disrespectful. She was a 24 year old college graduate, but having the baby out of wedlock, and rude comments were made about this in the hallway when they didn't realize I was with her.
Her labor failed to progress after the epidural was administered so strong that she could no longer feel the bottom half of her body at all and was forced to remain laying on her back for hours rather than continuing to walk.
Despite refusing to allow her to eat anything for 8 hours, one of the nurses actually came into the room munching on a chocolate cupcake from some staff member's birthday celebration and told her that if she had the baby she could have a cupcake too (what kind of cruel incentive is that)?
She was supposed to be pushing whenever she had a contraction to help the baby drop fully into the birthing canal. But because she had no sensation at all from the waist down she couldn't tell when she was having contractions. At one point, when only myself and the father of the child were in the room, a nurse walked in and scolded us for not telling her to push because one of the 5 machines she had hooked up to her was indicating she was having a contraction, as if we were supposed to know this and furthermore as if it was our responsibility to be monitoring their patient.
Because she had absolutely no sensation from the waist down, the nurses had myself and the father of the child hold up her legs and apply pressure to her back in the hopes that she would feel the pressure and have a sense of where to push. Again, I have no idea why the medical staff thought this was the job of her two young, completely uneducated friends.
Ultimately she had a C-section. Since this experience, I have gone through medical training and work with a lot of pregnant patients. Looking back, it is clear that the nursing staff simply became frustrated with her and told her she should get a C-section. There was no fetal distress, and no maternal distress other than a young, scared first time mother not getting any guidance.
The after-care was also completely lacking in regards to any coaching regarding breast feeding or post C-section self-care.
Again, this was a long time ago, but based on the experience I would never go to this hospital for any reason -- it just totally turned me off. I would highly recommend having a doula present or someone who can advocate for you or at least explain to you what is going on in the case that the staff decides you don't need to know.