st lukes vs. lehigh valley hospital (obgyn, college, live)

[theshan]

looking for moms who have delivered at st lukes or lvh. what are your comments about the nurses, facility, private rooms, would you return there for another delivery?
my impression (having moved here recently) is that lvh has a better reputation, but i don't have any sense of why or if it's an accurate perception. i live a lot closer to st luke's, so I'd rather not drive, in labor, an extra 20 minutes.
and if you love you midwife or obgyn, i'd love your recommendation.
thanks!

[toobusytoday]

We moved here after I had my last child so I have no first hand baby experience with either hospital but I'm still going to add my 2 cents. I would find a nearby ob/gyn practice that you really like and go to St. Luke's assuming that's where they are associated. Both hospitals have good reputations and like you said why would you want to drive an extra 20 minutes while in labor? If St. Luke's had a bad reputation, I would give different advice.

[graysmom8]

I delivered my son at LVH almost 3 years ago and highly recommend it. He unexpectedly ended up in the NICU 10 hours after birth due to low blood sugar. The care he and I both received was excellent. The nurses were extra supportive of me after he was put in the NICU, which was a big help. The NICU nurses were very caring and helpful as well and answered any/all questions my husband and I had. They taught us how to read his monitors, how to feed and dress him with his belly button IV, etc, and they didn't mind that we were there about 8-10 hours a day (the NICU and postpartum unit are on the same floor at LVH).

I've never had St. Luke's food, but LVH contracts out for their food service and it's actually quite good (and I'm VERY picky) with a big selection.

I used College Heights OB/GYNs on Cedar Crest Blvd (right across the street from LVH). There are probably 8 different drs there and you see various ones throughout your pregnancy since you don't know who will be on call when you deliver-I think one of their drs is always at the hospital since they have so many patients. I loved the OB that delivered my son. He was so caring and wanted to make sure I was alright, that he called in a second dr to cover his other patients so he could sit with me for 2 hours straight while I pushed.