Giving Birth in Wilkes-Barre area - Hospitals? Docs? (Scranton, Taylor: closing, live)

[MoneyMindedMom]

Hello, I am a first time mom. I was wondering where would be a good place to give birth in the Wilkes-Barre area. There are two hospitals here- Geisinger and Wilkes Barre General Hospital. Geisinger seems newer. Not sure what the birthing facilities are like at either place. Not sure how progressive either hospital is as far as water-birthing, natural vaginal births, professional midwives and doctors?

I went for my first prenatal appointment at Geisinger and met with a nurse practitioner (not even a doctor was available) and she was very rude and very abrupt. She would ask me questions and then say "let me finish" and cut me off when I was trying to answer her questions. She seemed like a pushy, loud-mouth who was very unprofessional.

I wen to Geisinger hoping to get a mid-wife but apparently its a crap-shoot who you get to treat you for your appointments and who delivers your baby depends on whomever is on call the day you deliver!

What is the deal?
Are there any lawsuits or problems with docs in this area with delivering babies? Who is recommended? Who should you stay away from? Which hospital is cleaner and/or offers beautiful new suites for mom and baby to room in?

Please help. I am from the Lehigh Valley area where things are a little more progressive when it comes to medical care and medical facilities. I'm nervous about what my options are here. I hope I am wrong and hope to be proven wrong!!

Any and all advice is welcome and very much appreciated.

[karen_s]

Since you seem to have a desire for a more natural type of birth with a midwife, why not post this question over on the Mothering.com message boards in the Pennsylvania "Finding Your Tribe" area. I'm positive there would be moms from your area to help.

I'm a little too far south to be of assistance in this regard. However, I believe I know a homebirth midwife who would serve your area if that is something you would want to explore.

[Lehigh Valley Native]

FWIW, we moved here while my wife was 3 months pregnant. Although mainly her decision, we decided to make the drive down to the Lehigh Valley for appointments, tests and the delivery. Since she was a planned c-section, it made it easier than a "i'm in labor 45 mile car drive"

After looking at hospitals/birthing suites in the Wyoming Valley, she did say that if she had to give birth here, she would have gone to Moses Taylor in Scranton

Also, from what I understand, and maybe someone else has first hand knowledge, but many high risk pregnancies are referred down to LVH and St. Lukes.

[Magritte25]

I agree with karen and LVN. The chances of you getting a natural, unmedicated birth in this area are slim to none. This area is very, very, very backwards when it comes to women's health and maternity issues. Mothering.com should be a big help for you. Good luck and congrats!!!!

[W-B proud]

We had our last daughter at Geisinger. Excellent care, kind nurses, very attentive and checked on my wife often. I highly recommend them. We were very pleased with the care and service from arrival through discharge.

[nepadaisy]

Mostly I have heard unhappy birth experiences out of the Wilkes Barre hospitals. Moses used to be pretty good, but since merging all the Scranton births into there, some undesirable elements have crept in. Wayne Memorial in Honesdale has a wonderful midwifery team and waterbirth, but that may be a bit too far for you.

Have you looked into homebirth? We have some marvelous homebirth midwives locally.

[drsmiley06]

It's not uncommon to see hospitals close their maternity units, I know after I moved up from philly I had heard of a few hospitals down there closing their units because of money and lawsuits. Good luck!

[W-B proud]

Originally Posted by nepadaisy

Mostly I have heard unhappy birth experiences out of the Wilkes Barre hospitals. Moses used to be pretty good, but since merging all the Scranton births into there, some undesirable elements have crept in. Wayne Memorial in Honesdale has a wonderful midwifery team and waterbirth, but that may be a bit too far for you.

Have you looked into homebirth? We have some marvelous homebirth midwives locally.

I have no idea why? I have two daughters, both born in Wilkes-barre hospitals, and have nothing but positive experiences from both. There is nothing wrong or sup-par about W-B's hospitals. On the contrary there are among the best in the region IMO.

[nepadaisy]

The most famous one is the issue with the court order for the cesarean in 2004. I think that was General. Other than that, I've mostly heard that they're very aggressive with things like pit and epidurals, episiotomies, and separation of mother and baby after birth, and very unyielding about things like refusing constant monitoring, hep b/vit k/eye ointment, and eating and drinking during labor, and pushing in positions other than lithotomy.

It's probably a good idea to get current rates for things like that, though. If you call, they should be able to give you 2010 stats. Most recent I can find is 2008 for some data. The Unnecesarean -

[Magritte25]

Originally Posted by nepadaisy

The most famous one is the issue with the court order for the cesarean in 2004. I think that was General. Other than that, I've mostly heard that they're very aggressive with things like pit and epidurals, episiotomies, and separation of mother and baby after birth, and very unyielding about things like refusing constant monitoring, hep b/vit k/eye ointment, and eating and drinking during labor, and pushing in positions other than lithotomy.

It's probably a good idea to get current rates for things like that, though. If you call, they should be able to give you 2010 stats. Most recent I can find is 2008 for some data. The Unnecesarean -

Yes, this exactly.