Where did you deliver?

CamFam · November 2012

Hi all! I am TTC for #2 and delivered my son at AAMC, but will not deliver there again (disappointed with their care), so I would like your insight on the hospitals near Anne Arundel County, southern Balitmore County, or Howard County.

Thanks!!

thechickencoop · November 2012

I delivered in April at Howard County Hosp. Overall, we were kind of "eh" with the facility. They are afiliated with Hopkins so I did feel comfortable in case there would be some sort of issue, the rooms were really nice, and most of the staff was nice too. I was induced, so we 'checked in' the night before my induction, which we were super lucky about because the next night, there were something like 18 women in labor there and they only had 12 rooms. DH said it was like a mad house when he was running around getting me water, juice, etc. Also, I don't think they were as supportive as breastfeeding as I would have liked. I didn't notice while we were there since this was #1 and I didn't know what to expect, but in speaking with friends who delivered elsewhere, I definately noticed it was lacking.

Smallstar · November 2012

I delivered at Howard County and had a pretty positive experience. Our nurses were wonderful, both in the delivery room and during recovery. DS ended up needing to stay 2 days longer than I did and they arranged for us to stay in a suite on-site so I could continue nursing him overnight in the nursery. I got quite a bit of BFing support, but I do wish that the lactation nurses were available around the clock. Overall, I felt that they went above and beyond to make us comfortable and to calm our nerves when DS had some minor complications in his first few days. I also have to mention the "cookie lady" who walks around once a day to deliver fresh baked cookies-definitely a great perk!

camdenfaithful · November 2012

I delivered at Howard County and I loved it there. I had such an amazing experience from start to finish. Like pp said I do wish they had LCs on around the clock but I found them to be very BF friendly. I never heard a mention of formula and I think I saw 4 different LCs while I was there. They are an incredibly busy hospital and were fully booked when I was there but I was never made to feel like a burden or inconvenience. The food is awesome too. I know that sounds silly but omg the food was so good. Plus the cookie lady!! I mean come on!

I will say the shower kind of sucked but I mean its a hospital. I was looking forward to a nice hot shower once I was allowed out of bed and it was sort of meh. The picture people there are nuts too. They aren't employed by the hospital and after some complaining its clear the staff hate them as much too. I threw my lady out of my room and after that things were great.

CamFam · November 2012

Smallstar:

I delivered at Howard County and had a pretty positive experience. Our nurses were wonderful, both in the delivery room and during recovery. DS ended up needing to stay 2 days longer than I did and they arranged for us to stay in a suite on-site so I could continue nursing him overnight in the nursery. I got quite a bit of BFing support, but I do wish that the lactation nurses were available around the clock. Overall, I felt that they went above and beyond to make us comfortable and to calm our nerves when DS had some minor complications in his first few days. I also have to mention the "cookie lady" who walks around once a day to deliver fresh baked cookies-definitely a great perk!

Sold!

CamFam · November 2012

Thank you for your responses! I have friends who delivered at Howard and recommend it as well. They failed to mention the cookie lady!! Smile

At AAMC, they "encourage" mother/baby bonding and breastfeeding by not having a nursery. In theory, this was great, but when I had heart complications, they gave my 6 hour old son to my panicing husband to care for while I was hooked up to monitors. I just wished a nurse could have taken over.

I also was not able to see a LC because I delivered after 10 PM on a Friday and the LCs are only there during weekdays (what I was told). Indifferent

I labored for 21 hours with Pitocin (10 days past due date) and one nurse said, "well, we'd send you home with failure to progress, but you are too cooked to risk it." Oh, thanks.

I pushed for 3 hours (his umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and no one knew) before begging for the vacuum or a c/s. I was just not pleased and my OBGYN office only delivers at AAMC, so I will need to start looking for a new practice when I get pregnant.

Thanks for letting me vent!

SarahKate31 · November 2012

camdenfaithful:
I delivered at Howard County and I loved it there. I had such an amazing experience from start to finish. Like pp said I do wish they had LCs on around the clock but I found them to be very BF friendly. I never heard a mention of formula and I think I saw 4 different LCs while I was there. They are an incredibly busy hospital and were fully booked when I was there but I was never made to feel like a burden or inconvenience. The food is awesome too. I know that sounds silly but omg the food was so good. Plus the cookie lady!! I mean come on!
I will say the shower kind of sucked but I mean its a hospital. I was looking forward to a nice hot shower once I was allowed out of bed and it was sort of meh. The picture people there are nuts too. They aren't employed by the hospital and after some complaining its clear the staff hate them as much too. I threw my lady out of my room and after that things were great.

Ditto the love for HCGH!! I had a great experience there. We did see a LC and they did give us formula, but only because we asked for it. They seemed to be very pro-BFing to me.

H, what food did you get that was so awesome?? The food I had was okay, but maybe I ordered the wrong thing!! Obviously, the cookie lady was awesome!!

JoNi2010 · November 2012

SarahKate31:
camdenfaithful:
I delivered at Howard County and I loved it there. I had such an amazing experience from start to finish. Like pp said I do wish they had LCs on around the clock but I found them to be very BF friendly. I never heard a mention of formula and I think I saw 4 different LCs while I was there. They are an incredibly busy hospital and were fully booked when I was there but I was never made to feel like a burden or inconvenience. The food is awesome too. I know that sounds silly but omg the food was so good. Plus the cookie lady!! I mean come on!
I will say the shower kind of sucked but I mean its a hospital. I was looking forward to a nice hot shower once I was allowed out of bed and it was sort of meh. The picture people there are nuts too. They aren't employed by the hospital and after some complaining its clear the staff hate them as much too. I threw my lady out of my room and after that things were great.
Ditto the love for HCGH!! I had a great experience there. We did see a LC and they did give us formula, but only because we asked for it. They seemed to be very pro-BFing to me.
H, what food did you get that was so awesome?? The food I had was okay, but maybe I ordered the wrong thing!! Obviously, the cookie lady was awesome!!

I'm jumping in to vote for HCGH too. Loved the cookie lady and yes the food was great. It was like room service so I can order whatever I wanted. Usually there was enough for both me and DH.

The 2 downsides were:

1. The first Lactation consultant was terrible - she answered my questions by giving me pamphlets. Fortunately the next day, another consultant came in and she was SO much more helpful. I even called after I left the hospital for a phone consultation since I had some questions and whoever picked up was very helpful.

2. We got a bill for TV and phone service even though I did not turn on the TV once. Plus I was unaware that we would be charged for phone service. You would be charged something like $14/day whether you use it or not. I thought that was very sneaky but apparently it was in small print somewhere in the papers you signed upon admission, which I did not read while I was in labor!

Smallstar · November 2012

I'm going to jump back in and add that I found that they were supportive of the decisions my husband and I were making and didn't seem to push an agenda either way. I went in undecided about having an epidural and they let me make the choice when I was ready to, but I never felt rushed or pushed in either direction.

I also knew that I wanted to BF and they fully supported that until DS needed to briefly supplement with formula for medical reasons. Even then the LC talked me through how to supplement while having him simultaneously BF so that we could continue BFing and not confuse the little guy. It would have been far easier for the nurses to just give him a bottle in the nursery but they worked with us to allow me to continue BFing. They were definitely respecting my wishes while looking out for our best interests medically. I can't say enough positive things about the nursing staff!

camdenfaithful · November 2012

SK I'm pretty sure I ordered everything on the menu. No joke. I would list like 15 things on the menu.

By far the best thing on the menu is the Mac n cheese. Omg so yummy!! I think part of it had to do with the fact that by the time I was allowed to eat I hadn't eaten in like 2 days so they could have given me a roasted bed pan and I would have loved it. But definitely the Mac n cheese.

And if you can't see an LC feel free to ask one of the nurses. While not trained consultants I found them to be very helpful and encouraging.

thechickencoop · November 2012

JoNi2010:

I delivered at Howard County and I loved it there. I had such an amazing experience The 2 downsides were:

1. The first Lactation consultant was terrible - she answered my questions by giving me pamphlets. Fortunately the next day, another consultant came in and she was SO much more helpful. I even called after I left the hospital for a phone consultation since I had some questions and whoever picked up was very helpful.

2. We got a bill for TV and phone service even though I did not turn on the TV once. Plus I was unaware that we would be charged for phone service. You would be charged something like $14/day whether you use it or not. I thought that was very sneaky but apparently it was in small print somewhere in the papers you signed upon admission, which I did not read while I was in labor!

So, additional comments!!! Lol. This exactly for us too. Again, everyone was nice, but we had the same type of issue with the first LC we saw, just very, cold?, I guess I would say, she brought in reading material, and LO was slow to latch and she jumped right into using a shield and formula which I didn't like. The second LC I saw the next day was much more patient and willing to take the time to really help. AND we got a $25 bill for TV and phone, same explanation that, "oh well you signed the papers", but I was getting ready to deliver a baby! I called and they waived the fee. sheesh!

Ditto also on the cookie lady; I forgot about her but she was quite awesome.

ras26 · November 2012

Nothing new or different from above, but I also really liked HCGH. I delivered on a Saturday evening, so I only got cookies right before we left on Monday morning, but they were awesome! Next time I'll remember to deliver on a week day. :-)

While we did get samples of formula in some little gift bag, they were very supportive of BF. Being a weekend evening, the nurse helped me out right away, and then I saw 2 LCs. I feel like the first left me not really BFing effectively, but I was so grateful when the second gave us a nipple shield. We were really struggling without it. No one ever uttered even a word about formula despite the fact that DD was dropping more weight than "normal."

I didn't have any issues with the picture people (just told them no once), and the nurses were all great for me and DD. They are really on top of pain management and really encouraged me to get up and around as soon as I was ready. They do strongly encourage you to keep LO in your room, which we did, but they will take the baby if you need some sleep.

SarahKate31 · November 2012

camdenfaithful:
SK I'm pretty sure I ordered everything on the menu. No joke. I would list like 15 things on the menu. By far the best thing on the menu is the Mac n cheese. Omg so yummy!! I think part of it had to do with the fact that by the time I was allowed to eat I hadn't eaten in like 2 days so they could have given me a roasted bed pan and I would have loved it. But definitely the Mac n cheese. And if you can't see an LC feel free to ask one of the nurses. While not trained consultants I found them to be very helpful and encouraging.

Oh the mac & cheese was good, I did have that! BIL & SIL arrived at the hospital just a few hours after DS was born and I asked them to stop and bring me Subway because I hadn't eaten in like 30 hours. Omgyum.

The LC we saw didn't give us any literature or anything like that. She was very, erm, hands-on, and very helpful in getting DS latched correctly.

nezwee · November 2012

CamFam:

I also was not able to see a LC because I delivered after 10 PM on a Friday and the LCs are only there during weekdays (what I was told).

I delivered at AAMC and I'm not trying to push you back there. But yeah, this isn't true. I delivered on a Friday morning and was seen by LC's Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I will say that the nurses and the LC's don't work together. My nurse got me set up to start pumping right away, and the LC discouraged me from trying.

Good Luck!

mrs. remy · November 2012

I also delivered both of mine at AAMC and had fabulous experiences both times, so I am sorry you did not. But I definitely also remember the LCs being there on the weekends. I never requested them so I can't comment further on that. While I loved their women's pavillion and all the nurses there, I had to go to the ER and subsequently got admitted in June for an appendectomy and was really unhappy with that experience. They just acted like I was an annoyance, and I was alone because DH was taking care of the kids and crying because I was scared and it was just really awful dealing with one sh!tty indifferent attitude after another. Sorry, guess I needed to vent too.

Anyhoo, I just wanted to strongly discourage you from going to the other hospital in AA County. Go with HCGH or maybe Mercy from what I have heard.

madladybride · November 2012

I delivered at AAMC (live in Southern Baltimore County) and had a really great experience. HOWEVER, I was with the Bay Area Midwives. It was nice because they are "in charge", so I had the facility, but more control over what I did (and did not) want. (I was also one of those people that had a birth preferences/plan that I filed with the hospital, discussed with my midwives and gave to the nurse as soon as I got there.)

Bay Area also has a birth center (it is on hospital grounds, but not part of the L&D area). You might want to check it out. I wanted to deliver there, but my insurance would not cover it.

ETA: I am really sorry to hear about your crappy experience. LC's were also available for me (I delivered on a Sunday). My midwife made sure that I saw an LC.

CamFam · November 2012

Thank you for your input! It really helps!

With the mommies responding to my LC experience... I bet I was misinformed! There were several things that happened that made me not want to go back, including how no one really communicated with each other.

When the paper recording my contractions ran out, my mom (a L&D RN) had to replace it because we called the nurse on duty twice and she said it was not necessary, however my OB said she needed to see it to check my pattern.

When I went to the bathroom before I had my epidural, the monitor slipped off and I could not find the heartbeat. We had to page the nurse to come adjust it after about 20 minutes. My mom was furious.

A "student nurse" checked me for dilation and said I was at a 3 when I got my epidural, however, my OB came in and checked several hours later and said I was "maybe" at 1.5.

They had me pushing for 3 hours straight before I begged for intervention.

When I asked to see an LC, the nurse said my baby was latching fine and not to worry because the LC's were not here on the weekends! :-( I never got to see one and I checked out Sunday morning.

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