Best hospital for natural child birth (Dallas, Plano: credit, live, safer)

[LMKH]

Also, I agree with staying away from Plano Presby. I had a baby there in 1996 and it was great and a leader in natural birth. It has changed a lot since and I tried to have a baby there in 2004 and the delivery and postpartum care were horrible, nasty, a nightmare.

[LMKH]

Another hospital to avoid with vengence would be Lewisville Medical Center.

[KK2007]

I would go for Baylor Dallas, too (if you dont do a homebirth). I have heard great things about that hospital!

[nsumner]

Kuddos to Baylor staff in Dallas:

I can attest to the great care that Baylor downtown gives to, not only their patients but they extend it to the family and friends.

Just about 3 months ago, I have a friend that had a major surgery and I accompanied her. Got there at 9am for surgery. The surgery was scheduled for 11am. Everything was on time. During the 2 hour surgery the nurse in charge called me three times from the operating room to give me an update on how my friend was doing.

After her 4 day stay, and I stayed with her 2 nights, I can't say enough about how well they care about the patients.

I must say, I was and still am impressed...

Also, I was born at home and so were my 2 sisters. My mom chose that. She said that it's a very intimate experience. She only had help from a neighbor and my grandmother.

Naima

[CallMeLaura]

Originally Posted by LMKH

As far as the poster who tells you that she knows 2 people who almost died during pregnancy, I am betting if you learned the details, those 2 people had a lot of intervention that actually caused their problems...like early induction for no reason other than convenience and so on.

How much would you like to bet? They both had underlying issues exacerbated by the stress of pregnancy, not by being induced early so everyone could have the weekend off. One was hospitalized for 5 weeks, which was hugely inconvenient.

It's one thing to educate yourself and opt for a more natural childbirth, but it's another to avoid all medical care out of some misguided thumbing your nose at the establishment rebellion. You are not, as far as I know, required to do anything a doctor tells you. They might have a bit more knowledge on the subject of health than you, however.

[momof2dfw]

Originally Posted by CallMeLaura

How much would you like to bet? They both had underlying issues exacerbated by the stress of pregnancy, not by being induced early so everyone could have the weekend off. One was hospitalized for 5 weeks, which was hugely inconvenient.

It's one thing to educate yourself and opt for a more natural childbirth, but it's another to avoid all medical care out of some misguided thumbing your nose at the establishment rebellion. You are not, as far as I know, required to do anything a doctor tells you. They might have a bit more knowledge on the subject of health than you, however.

HERE HERE!!!!!!!!!

I know of a family that several years ago after they had two healthy children were warned to NOT try again. The mother developed extreme high blood pressure during both pregnancies and her doctor told them to NOT do it again as it was just "too risky". But they wanted a boy to "carry on the name" and did not listen to the wise doctor. When the mom was about 7 months along she had a heart attack and died and lost the baby. The son they wanted was lost and so was the mother to two little girls all because they would not listen to a doctor that had been trained and as I like to say, "God gave the wisdom" to care for his patients. Happens a lot more than many people really know, sadly . The wise doctor TRIED to "intervene" and told them flat out that getting pregnant again the odds were TOO HIGH.

[mamakir]

I have had two births at Baylor Dallas - the first with an Ob and the second with Lindsay Stephens. Both were unmedicated but the one with Lindsay was just AMAZING. I can't say enough great things about her. As far as the Baylor staff goes - some are great some are just okay. If you get a doula and have Lindsay as your midwife it won't matter because the nurses role will be fairly minor.

[shutchins]

Exactly! There is a reason that research shows that out of hospital births are safer than hospital births. There is a pub. in the New Eng. Journal of Medicine called "The Cascade Effect on the Clinical Care..." that outlines the process of intervention after intervention and how that has caused the epidemic of c-sections in our country. We, as a country, rank horribly with our Infant Mortality Ranking. The obvious question is if we, a superpower, medical advanced nation, have doctors who are "qualified" in prenatal/delivery/postpartum care, why are we not at the top of the list? Singapore tops the list at 2.30 per 1,000 live births. We rank just below Cuba and South Korea in infant mortality!!!
Cuba - 6.04/1,000
South Korea - 6.05/1,000
United States - 6.37/1,000
It is a reality that parents should look at. If you are told by a provider that isn't 'natural friendly' that you are safer in a hospital, always get a second opnion. If you choose a midwife, and they think that you aren't 'safe', your care will be transfered to their back-up physician group. They are there for your safety. How many docs are going to tell you "go have that natural birth you want, we don't need the extra 2K for the epidural or 17K for the csection"... sorry, it isn't going to happen. For those that have friends that have almost died, the reality is the vast majority of those with 'almost died' stories are intervention stories, now I know that there are those that are really 'high risk' but they are the minority. If a famliy is advised to stop, that is totally different than a family that is having a baby with normal risk factors. If parents took the time to exercise, eat right BlueRibbonBaby.org » Home for pregnancy, and take care of themselves then there would be lower risk factors for many of those too.

Re: birth centers~ Go for Allen Birthing Center (Allen Birthing Center - Dallas Midwife: Honoring the Spirit of Birth) or Lover's Lane Birth Center (Lovers Lane Birth Center) as they are both great midwife groups, and respect the process of birth.

[jennifermomma]

I am thinking about delivering at Swiss Ave. I've heard so many good things about them. I have a heart problem that may or maynot affect this birth and would feel confortable there knowing that Baylor is only 3 blocks away.

Thank you ladies for helping me in trying to find a place to deliver safely!

[laysayfair]

Originally Posted by pepper131

I know a mom who had her first child at 38 at home with a midwife. Her second child about 5 yrs later at home and her third child just 4 yrs ago at age 46 or 47 at home....ALL homebirths with a midwife w/o complication.

Also look into the Birth Center on Swiss Ave. They work closely with a dr practice very near them and affiliated with Baylor in Dallas.

Oh, good for her! I only have one child and I had him at home when I was 30.