Cedars-Sinai Delivery

malloryjc · August 2013

I'm due with my first boy in November and delivering at Cedars-Sinai. I haven't been there yet. I start my prenatal classes and take a tour in a few weeks. Any suggestions/tips/opinions about Cedars Maternity?

2JEL · August 2013

One of my closest friends delivered there last year. She told me to definitely take the tour and how much she loved the private delivery rooms/suites. Sorry I can't be more helpful, but chiming in to say you're in very good hands!

2JEL · August 2013

Sorry, probably also should have mentioned that (a) she loved the experience there and (b) how supportive they were of her desire to avoid having a c-section (which she avoided) and (c) how quick they were with the epidural after she changed her mind about needing it.

malloryjc · August 2013

Thanks! This definitely helps!

Joyfrog · August 2013

I have had 2 babies at Cedars.... One emergency c- section and one scheduled c-section this past February. Both were great experiences especially the nurses! The only negative thing to say about my experience was the lactation consultant was very distracted during her consultation. She was answering phone calls while trying to help us. Then left after just a few minutes saying she would return and never did.

Navy_Redhead · August 2013

I'm sure they have changed policies, but I lost a very good friend of mine due to policies at Cedars-Sinai when she was born. She was born 2months pre-mature, & was given HIV infected blood without her mothers consent. Her mother had already stored blood at the hospital just in case an emergency had happened with her or her baby, & Cedars instead used donor blood. This was in 1982, so AIDS was just coming to light, however the doctors at Cedars knew that people were getting sick from blood coming from some donors in the West Hollywood area. Worse, they knew who these donors were and kept accepting the blood. It took 5 years before anyone notified my friend's mother of what had happened to her daughter, and when they finally tested her little girl and told her, they tried to force her to sign paperwork right away, within minutes of this devastating news, that would absolve them of any law suits. They used the stigma of aids to try to force her to keep quiet about it and not tell anyone. This happened to about 13 babies born at Cedars in the early 80s. There was a joint lawsuit, which found in the hospital's favor, stating that what they did was wrong, but because there was no legal policy in place, it was not illegal. Cedars walked, meanwhile, 13 children were basically murdered by them, in my opinion. My friend lived until she reached 13. Her mother still grieves the loss, and it is still very fresh for her at times. I know this was long ago, but I can't forget what they did to her either. It's not very well known of anymore, but it did happen. I will never set foot in that hospital. Some of those drs were still on staff, last I checked.

https://www.anique.com/father.html

Navy_Redhead · August 2013

Forgive me, not 13 children, but 114. Guess I had my friend's age on my mind.

Navy_Redhead · August 2013

People's opinions were asked, and what I posted is my opinion. I still feel that there is danger with that hospital, as many staff members that were involved at the time are still there. If you don't feel there is merit to the story for you, than that is your decision and there is nothing wrong with that.

2JEL · August 2013

LukyDuky, I agree with you that most hospitals have made decisions that look awful in light of future medical discoveries.

Navy, it sounds like you are still grieving the loss of your friend. I'm sorry for your loss. I just lost my childhood best friend to cancer in her early 30s and I'm sure I would be furious if I could prove a hospital was at fault. While I agree with the OP that the comment isn't directly relevant to Cedars practices in the past 20 years, I had never thought about banking blood pre-delivery, but am seriously considering doing so now, so I appreciate your remarks even though they are horrifying.

Navy_Redhead · August 2013

Thank you, 2-Jel. Yes, I do still grieve her. Many of the friends we shared are still close, and we are all now in our 30, starting/expanding our families, and discovering what it is we want out of our adult lives. She never had that chance. She never got to grow up, get married, or even go to prom or have her first kiss. I think about whete she would be now had rhings been different, or how many children she might have. Her future was stolen from her the day she was born, because Cedars was careless.

This was not a simple mistake; they didn't know that the blood was from an AIDS infected donor, but they DID KNOW that SOMETHING was wrong with the blood, and that previous recipients of it were getting sick from it. They knew enough to stop accepting the blood and to stop giving it to patients. The main dr in this, Tim Mundy, was responsible for the attempted coverup. Last I checked, he was sitting on the hospital's board. He should have lost his medical license, he and his fellow doctors got away with it. Personally, I would not want to go to or have my child born in a hospital where people like him are now in charge. History has a way of repeating itself. Who is to say that they are not involved in other questionable practices? And if they find themselves in a similar situation where your baby's life and future depends on their decisions, are they going to do what's best for your child, or what is best for their business?

I do think that it would be a good idea to bank some blood, if possible, or have the father of your baby do so. If you do, make sure that the hospital as well as tou partner is fully aware of your wishes and that the blood is available, and be adamant about it if need be. Simply trusting them to read what you wrote on forms may not be enough.

wedsept · August 2013

I had 2 children at Cedars (2010 and 2012). My first was an unscheduled C-section at 37 1/2 weeks. She ended up in NICU for 13 days. The NICU was generally very good. However, as a mother, you have to be very watchful of everything. I was there from 9 am to 10 pm everyday. At one point, my DD had a seizure for an unexplained reason. It wasn't clear what happened and whether there was something wrong with her. All the tests showed up negative. In the end, they determined that she had an allergic reaction to one of the meds they gave her. Fortunately, the seizure did not affect her negatively. All in all, I had a positive experience, so I had my second baby there too.

My second child was a scheduled C-section at 39 weeks. My DS had jaundice, which isn't a big deal these days. However, you have to be careful to get proper treatment immediately. Left untreated, a child will get brain damage. Anyway, the first night he had jaundice (day 2 of birth), they had him in the nursery because of the treatment for jaundice. I went into the nursery and saw my baby crying like crazy because the special patch they wear to protect their eyes from the light treatment had come off. The patch coming off could have caused damage to his eyes and no one noticed. I complained about this and the next morning, he was back in my room. Once my baby was in my room, I thought everything would be fine. Thereafter, the nursery nurse came in my room with another nurse and they whispered something about the incubator light not working and then left without fixing it. I called the head nurse immediately and inquired about this. Well, it wasn't set up properly and they weren't going to fix it until I complained. Very frustrating.

At around the same time, I was losing too much blood. In the craziness of them trying to figure out whether I had internal bleeding, they removed the brace they use to circulate the blood in your legs and never put them back. A few hours later, my calves started hurting. I told them doctor and then he noticed that the leg circulation brace wasn't on me. They freaked out that I might have a blood clot (which could lead to a stroke). At one point, there were about 4 doctors and 10 nurses in my room. They knew they had made a huge mistake. So, they checked my legs to see if I had a blood clot, which I didn't. Thereafter, they had to monitor me very carefully to make sure I was ok. Anyway, one crazy nurse started screaming at me because I asked her to give me a new blanket (she had dropped the blanket on the dirty bloody floor). She then got a call and started screaming at the nurse at the front desk (my room was right by the nurse's station). I was so emotional at this point, that I just started crying. I complained about this as well, and they replaced her immediately. After that, my experience was good.

While I would recommend Cedars, I would caution you to be very watchful and careful of what is going on and to speak up if you see something or feel something is wrong. I am glad I did because if I didn't, my baby's jaundice properly wouldn't have gone to the extent it needed to for my baby to come home with me when I left the hospital. This was very important for me because my first baby didn't come home with me when I was released.

Navy_Redhead · August 2013

Wedsept, thank you for sharing your experience. I believe you to have a very good heart to be able to have had those experiences, especially the one with the screaming nurse, and still be able to recommend them. I can only imagine how scary those experiences must have been for you. The period of time just after having had a baby can be very fragile for some women. What that nurse did is inexcusable. I'm glad your babies are okay. My son was also jaundiced, that can be scary.

lisadlyons · August 2013

I am doing the Cedars maternity tour Sept 8th! Maybe I will see some of you there!

Lindsayloub · August 2013

I did the tour a few weeks ago and it confirmed that a hospital birth isn't for me. I was stunned at the lack of questions all the other future parents had. I felt like most people were just following along like sheep. I would encourage everyone to read as much as you can about your options during birth (whether it's at home, or hospital, or a birth center) and recognize that you have the right to exercise your own choices in any birthing environment. Trust your instincts ladies. Not everything that people recommend, or insinuate is the 'normal done thing', will be the right choice for you! Read read read, so that you can make your own informed decisions and feel empowered and in control of your birth.

ocmommy2B · October 2013

i took my tour Sept 18th and I loved it. I originally wanted to give birth at a birthing center and due to geography and logistics I cant. I wasnt excited about giving birth in a hospital, but decided to look into Cedars because of their reputation as well as the fact that thats where my husband & i were born and his brothers 3 kids were born as well.

by the end of my tour i was comfortable, happy and excited about my choice of cedars. They are very accommodating and as someone who wants a natural birth, i was happy to hear about how embracing they are of natural methods (water use, mobility, birthing balls, etc) Also, the fact that all the rooms are private suites (most of which are newly remodeled) was a big plus for me. All the hospital stay's ive ever had I've had a private room so i couldnt imagine NOT having one during something as important as the birth of our new child.

I think overall this hospital is a great choice. Every hospital has its pluses and minuses so it really is best to tour and then decide what hospital is the right fit for you

good luck in whatever you choose!

theamandapanda · October 2013

LOVED my experience at Cedars. I was born there in 1980 so it was super exciting to have my first baby there! My nurses were all amazing. They hooked us up with tons of diapers. It was months before we had to buy any! We just switched to Kaiser, and I'm so sad not to give birth at Cedars again. Good luck!

VeilSdeGTO · November 2013

I had my daughter at Cedars in Oct of 2011 and will have another daughter there in a few weeks. We did go on the maternity tour and found it very helpful. I do agree with a PP that not a lot of parents asked many questions. However, DH and I were prepared with our own set of questions and we felt that the staff answered all of them .

Although I have nothing to compare it to, I enjoyed my experience there obviously enough to have DD#2 there as well. I also did not find the LC there to be that helpful. Luckily, we didn't have too many issues with BF'ing so it wasn't a big deal.

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