Philadelphia Babies
Options
ObGyn and Hospital Recommendations in Bucks County Needed
Hi everyone!! I got married and moved 7 months ago to Bensalem and am looking for a new obgyn and hospital for maternity. I've heard suggestions of Abington and St Mary's. Does anyone have experience with either of these (or someplace else) and do you have any obgyn recommendations? I'm 35 so someone who can deal with older pregnancies would be great. Thanks in advance for your help!!!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: ObGyn and Hospital Recommendations in Bucks County Needed
I am delivering at Abington and I use Abington Women's Healthcare Group - both have been excellent so far! My sister in law delivered both of my nephews here and had a great experience.
Holy Redeemer is another good hospital - good luck in your search!
I am delivering at Holy Redeemer and I know a lot of people who were very happy with the hospital. They are actually now in a process of a huge rebuild of the maternity section. They already have a brand new nursery in place and they are finishing up on the labor and delivery and after care rooms. As far as the doctors, I go to Kramer and Associates. They have an office in NE Philly (Bustleton Ave around Rhawn St) and another one on Huntington Pike. My primary doctor is Dr. Belder and I have also seen Dr. Kramer a few times and I am very happy with them and feel very comfortable with them and their experiences.
Good luck.
I live in Lower Bucks and have decided to go deliver at Abington since I'm expecting twins (places you in the high risk category). I am seeing the Abington women's health care group and have been very pleased. They have offices all over, so you do need to go to a variety of offices to see the different doctors.
My sister delivered at St. Mary's and had a very good experience at that hospital. If I weren't expecting twins, I would have delivered there or Lower Bucks.
My nephew was born at Lower Bucks at 28 weeks. He is happy and healthy now, and as far as I know it was a great experience (besides him being born so early, but that wasn't the hospital's doing!)
I am also looking to switch doctors before we TTC - I live in Bucks as well. Right now I have it narrowed down to the center for womens health in Langhorne (delivers at Lower Bucks) or Womens Health Associates of Bucks also in Langhorne (delivers at St Marys).
I hear good things about both and actually have friends who work in both offices - so I would feel comfortable with either. My main decision now is which hospital I would rather deliver at.. I'd be curious to hear peoples opinions on St Marys vs Lower Bucks. I am leaning towards St Marys because I hear better things about them than Lower Bucks (also there are always rumours that Lower Bucks is going to be closing soon..)
I just had my first appointment at Womens Health Associates of Bucks and honestly, I wasn't too impressed. Here's my synopsis of the goods and bads:
Cons:
First they lost all of my paperwork that they request I send in before my appointment. Luckily, I photocopied it before I sent it in.
Next, when we got there and were sitting and waiting, the women at the front desk were very catty talking amonst one another (not about me, just in general). My husband and I were very turned off by that.
Third, my appt was scheduled for 4:15pm, we didn't see the doctor until 5pm (he even took a 4:45pm appt before us and later apologized).
Lastly and most important to us: it's a catholic hospital which means catholic rules (I'm catholic). If there is a crisis in which it's the baby or you, they are going to save the baby first. We talked to the doc about this and he did not deny they don't do that. He just kept telling us that if one life is in jeopardy, then the other probably is also. He did also state that if you have an issue of which you medically would need the pregnancy terminated (he provided us with an example of a pregnancy in which at 7 wks the heartbeat was fading and they knew that the mother would miscarry), they can not and will not do it there. They will need to transfer you over to Abington bc as a catholic hospital, St mary's can not do that. Not something I want to have chanced if I am pregnant and having an issue, nor do I want to be thrown around between hospitals and doctors.
Pros:
The doctor I went to seemed nice and was very calm. We rated him a B.
The nurses who drew blood and who monitored blood pressure were very nice.
If you make an appointment with the hospital, they will allow you to see the nursery (not sure if all hospitals do this or not).
Large office with 4 doctors (one female).
Conclusion: I'm going to check out Abington. My husband and I don't want to take a chance with my life (or our future baby) by going to a hospital in which they aren't able to do every life-saving thing possible. Good luck to you in your search!!
Lower Bucks Hospital did file for Ch 11 bankruptcy months ago, but I would not be too concerned about it. It is simply going through a reorganization. The hospital is fully operational and as far as I know, there are no plans for it to close. If, for whatever reason, it did close prior to your delivery date, Center for Women's Health has arranged for its patients to deliver at another hospital...presumably St Mary's.
To be honest, I was reluctant about delivering at Lower Bucks because it is older and further from my house compared to St Marys. I have visited Lower Bucks twice now, and I have been very pleased with the staff and facilities. I also like the fact that the hospital is relatively quiet. Also, your OB doctor is the one delivering your child, so to me, what mattered most was being comfortable with the doctor.
As an FYI- even though I am delivering at Lower Bucks, I am taking birthing, bfeeding, etc. classes at St Marys because it is closer to my house.
I delivered in Abington this past May, with WomenCare OB GYN group and Dr. Sullivan was fantastic! it was a very pleasant experience, no issues at all. My sister delivered in St. Mary years ago and she was happy with them as well.
I had a number of friends deliver in Abington and based on many reviews it's the safest place. they have NiCU, and even though so fa no one needed it, it's nice to know it is there